


From the Dust

by DragonSwirl



Category: Monstercat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Gen, Halloween, Mythical Beings & Creatures, monstercat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSwirl/pseuds/DragonSwirl
Summary: From the Dust we will awaken,And life will fill our veins...Three roommates, two eternal grudges, and one moon. Can't get any worse than that.A college-bound pianist named Braken moves in with two friendly musicians, Leo and Joel, thinking nothing could go wrong. Due to a few reckless moves, secrets are revealed within days - secrets he never expects to find in their quiet home. But they aren't the only ones keeping a low profile. When Leo finds something he shouldn't, Braken finds himself caught in a battle between duty and friendship, family and love."Outcasts gotta stick together."How far is together?This was written in like 2017 but I thought it was hysterical so here you go
Relationships: None





	1. Chapter 1

I looked up at the small, one floor house and sighed. This was it. My fourth roommate in five months. Of course, I knew why the others had kicked me out, and honestly, I didn't blame them. Still, it hurt to be tossed around like a piece of garbage, no matter what they thought I was.

With another sigh, I shouldered my backpack and picked up my suitcase, and walked up to the door. The window on the side of the house was covered by blinds and curtains, though I could see a little bit of light through it. It was a bright, sunny day, and I wondered why the person living there was so content with keeping the light out.

I knocked on the door and stepped back a little to wait. I heard two people come up to the door, but they didn't open it right away.

"Is this him?" one of them asked.

"I think so. No one comes over, anyway. Just - get your finger out of your mouth. That's disgusting."

"Sorry. I'm just nervous."

"Just open the door."

"Can't you -"

"Just open the door!"

Finally, the door swung in to reveal two guys, about my age, both taller than me. I'd be the tiny one again, so it seemed. One of them was extremely pale, with black hair and bandages around both wrists, and the other was taller than him with messy brown hair and a scruffy beard.

I put on a nervous smile and held out my shaking hand. "Hey. I'm Braken. I'm the new roommate. I was told you guys were expecting me?"

The taller one started to reply, but the pale guy grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, cutting him off. "Hi. I'm Leo. That's Joel. I didn't think you'd be here so soon. Sorry we're not ready. We'll show you around." He released me and pranced into the living room, and then paused when I didn't move. "Welcome to our house. Come on in."

"You don't have to invite him," Joel muttered.

"It's common courtesy," Leo snapped back. 

"Bite me." 

"You don't have to tell me twice."

I pulled my suitcase into the living room, immediately taking note of the darkness in the room. It wasn't an uncomfortable or eerie darkness, however, like I was used to. In fact, it was quite homey. I found I didn't mind it. It even made Leo's pale face seem slightly more colored. There was a couch and a chair on one side of the room, facing a TV, with a coffee table in the middle. There was a jar of tiny shells in the middle of the table, and a sudoku book next to that. On the other side, to my left, there was an upright piano and two guitars. There weren't very many pictures on the walls, unlike the last place I'd been at, the one with the guy who seemed to have every wall filled with photographs of his family and two dogs. There was a lingering scent in the room, almost like coconut. 

Joel noticed me scrunch up my nose trying to figure it out and snorted a laugh. "You're smelling Leo's coconut banana smoothie. He has a fetish for them." He muttered something under his breath, but I didn't catch it.

I raised an eyebrow. "Interesting word choice. He doesn't seem like a very tropical guy."

This time, Joel laughed a lot louder, and I immediately felt at ease. Something about this odd pair made me feel completely at home. "You know what? I like you, Braken," he said.

"Come on. I'll show you your room," Leo said, picking up my bag. He immediately dropped it and frowned. "Hey, Joel. You, uh ... you smell that?"

The other inhaled long and thoughtfully. "Yeah, almost like ..." He paused and took another deep breath.

"Silver," they both said in unison, turning to stare at my bag. 

The good feeling vanished in a second. I shifted my weight uncomfortably and rubbed my neck, where my scarf always covered up my secret, my scar, if you will. "Is something wrong?" I asked, nervously licking my lips. 

They shared a glance and Leo let out a little squeal. "Nothing," he squeaked. "Just ... Joel's highly allergic to silver. That's all."

An alarm went off in my head, but I ignored it for the time being. I wouldn't get kicked out again for saying something offensive. "Oh, sorry. I'll keep it in my bag."

"What is it?" Joel asked, his voice low.

"A pendant," I lied. I wasn't going to tell them what it really was - not yet, anyway. That'd get me kicked out for sure.

He stared at me for a long minute. "Okay," he said slowly. "But don't take it out. Got it?"

"S-sure." I tried to smile a little, but they'd freaked me out and I was more jumpy than usual. My face didn't cooperate. I was starting to think that these guys weren't normal college roommates. 

Leo quickly lead me to my room, down a hallway and across from the bathroom. Once there, he left me alone and rushed out of the room, biting his finger as if it was a nervous habit of his. I thought I saw blood, but I wasn't sure. 

I put my bags down in a corner and sat down on the bed. It squeaked, but I didn't mind. I pulled out my notebook and pen and turned to a new page, writing their names at the top, along with the date. October 30th. I briefly wondered if I was overthinking it, but dismissed the idea as I scribbled down the few things I'd learned about them. 

_ Leo _

_ Extremely pale _

_ Made sure to invite me in _

_ Coconuts and bananas? _

_ Joel _

_ Highly allergic to silver _

_ Both have an extremely good sense of smell _

_ Live in a dark house _

I paused to bite the back of my pen and think. So far, nothing was certain. I'd have to keep a close eye on them, but there was no point in jumping to conclusions. That had gotten me in big trouble with my first roommate. I guess I'd just have to wait it out.

Still, one could never be too careful ...

Slowly, I unzipped my bag and gently took out the silver dagger, testing its edge on my thumb. It was still sharp.

...

"So, Braken. Tell us about yourself. Where are you from?" Joel asked, munching on some carrots. He didn't seem content with the taste, and cringed when he swallowed them.

I shifted my weight on my chair and stirred my soup slowly. "I lived by the ocean for a while," I said, taking a bite. I don't know what I was expecting, but it tasted pretty good.

"What part? I love the coast," Joel said.

"Lots of places," I muttered, taking another bite so I wouldn't have to answer any further.

"Why are you up here?" Leo asked. "Family, work, school?"

"School."

"What are you studying?"

"I'm hoping to major in something music." I waited for them to say something, make fun of me like the others, but they didn't. I looked up from my food and saw them both grinning at me. "Is ... everything -?"

"We're musicians, too!" Leo cut me off, and when he spoke, I noticed something odd about his teeth. I quickly dropped my eyes back down, praying he didn't see the realization in my expression.

"That's cool," I said, kind of awkwardly. My mind was working overtime. I'd have to do a little research tonight. This might be my first project.

"So you don't have family up here?" Joel asked.

"No," I said, not willing to talk about it.

Joel bit into another carrot, and then threw the other half into the garbage can. "You know what? Tomorrow night, I'm making burgers."

"What?" Leo complained.

"Shut up. I want them. I'm tired of vegetables."

"What's wrong with burgers?" I asked.

"Leo's vegan," Joel chuckled. "Sad, isn't it?"

I cracked a smile to cover up the thoughts running through my head. If he was vegan, he was either lying or not what I thought he was. Something weird was going on here.

"You got a problem with that?" Leo said through a mouthful of soup.

"No, not at all," I said. "Just as long as you don't stop me from eating my fish every once in a while." My mind was everywhere but at the table.

"You're a fish guy?" Joel said, and I immediately snapped to attention.

"What?" I stuttered.

He laughed a little, low and growling. "You like your seafood. That's all I meant."

"Oh. Yeah, of course." I felt my face turn bright red in embarrassment. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a little nervous. You guys said you're musicians? What do you play?"

"We both play the guitar and the piano," Leo said, motioning to the living room. "We mostly produce electronic music, though."

"Why don't you play something for him?" Joel asked.

Before I knew it, I was dragged to the couch, sitting in between them while Leo strummed a few chords thoughtfully. Once again, I noticed the bandages on both wrists, almost all the way up to his elbows. One of his fingers was wrapped in a bandaid, sometimes messing with his playing.

"What should I sing?" he asked.

"Moonlight. That's a nice one." Joel leaned back and stretched his arms across the back of the couch. I shifted forward to avoid touching him.

Leo had a very nice voice, I noticed. I liked listening to him sing.

_ "My shadow is my only friend,  _

_ The only one on whom I can depend.  _

_ He follows in every step I take,  _

_ Never condemns me for my mistakes, _

_ He can see the pain that lives in me. _

_ In the moon, in the moonlight, _

_ She can see me hiding out from the sun. _

_ In the dark, in the midnight, _

_ She can see me hiding out from the sun." _

"You wrote that?" I asked, impressed.

"Yeah." Leo smiled a little, careful not to show his teeth. "Glad you liked it."

If anything, the song only confirmed my suspicions. I forced myself to stay and chat with them for about twenty more minutes, and then I excused myself and locked myself in my room, grabbing my notebook and scribbling down the last thing I'd learned about Leo.

_ Fangs. _

...

That night, as I lay on my bed, wide awake, I heard the two of them talking. It was late, and I didn't think they'd be up. I tried to ignore them, but finally, curiosity got the best of me and I crept to the door, pressing my ear against the wood.

"I don't know," Leo said nervously. "Seemed kinda suspicious."

"Of course he'd be suspicious. He's already been kicked out four times," Joel answered, sounding irritated.

"Then why'd we take him? That's just asking for trouble!"

This time, Joel paused. "Because it felt like the right thing to do."

"But the silver, Joel. He had silver. And there's a lot more than in a simple pendant. Trust me."

"I could tell. Come on, he's probably harmless. Did you see how small he is?"

I felt my shoulders stiffen, as I did not appreciate being called small. Plus, Leo suspected I had something important - and he was right.

"It's too suspicious," he said, "especially to drop in six days before the next moon."

"Your run in with Aphasia made you too jumpy. You need to calm down." Although this time, Joel sounded worried as well, like he was starting to believe Leo's argument.

"My run in with Aphasia nearly got me killed!" he shrieked.

"Hey, calm down. I'll protect you. We're in this together."

Leo whimpered something, though his words were muffled, as if he had his mouth full.

"Get your wrist out of your mouth, Leo. That's disgusting."

"I need it. I need it. I need it. It's the only thing that makes me feel better."

"We'll get some more coconut water in the morning. The weather's looking overcast and it shouldn't rain. You need to get out of the house."

Leo hissed something under his breath, and all of this evidence swirled through my head. Coconut water. Overcast and no rain. Darkness. Silver. Pale. Fangs. It only took me a second to remember something I'd learned years ago - coconut water could be used as an emergency substitute for blood. And just like that, I knew exactly what he was.

Leo was a vampire.

I wanted to hit myself for being so stupid. How could I not have noticed before? Vampires are one of the easiest supernaturals to identify.

But he was ... different. I couldn't explain it. He wasn't a normal vampire. And if he was a supernatural, was Joel?

What had I gotten myself into?

Leo's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I redirected my attention. "He smells weird," he complained, most likely still talking about me.

"I just smelled the ocean," Joel said. "Sounds fishy to me." He started to laugh, but there was a thump as Leo must've hit him, and then he was quiet.

"I mean his blood smelled weird, you flea-bag."

Yep. Definitely a vampire.

But flea-bag ...? Any normal person would dismiss it as a casual insult, but I wasn't a normal person. I was starting to think I'd be able to get my licence from my father a lot sooner than I'd expected. I'd finally make him proud.

"Who are you calling flea-bag, you soulless blood-sucker?" Joel growled, sounding much more like an animal.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Leo moaned.

"About what, your soullessness?"

"No, about blood. It's almost that time, and you know I get all tingly and anxious just thinking about it. The sweet metallic taste flowing over my tongue, the feeling of sinking my fangs into -"

"Eww ... Shut up, you sicko."

"Yeah, like you're any better," Leo grumbled. There was a long pause, as if the two were deep in thought, and then he continued, softer this time. "Hey, Joel? You remember that feeling right before Aphasia ...?"

"Yeah. I feel it, too. I'll go check."

Check what? I heard Joel get up off the couch and walk down the hall - toward my room. I panicked slightly and sprang into my squeaky bed, burrowing under my blankets and holding my breath.

Sure enough, the door creaked open just a little. I could almost feel Joel's eyes scanning the room. So much for privacy. I was just glad I remembered to put my knife away before I got into bed.

He left me alone quickly after that, to go convince Leo that I wasn't eavesdropping on them. "I told you," I heard him say.

"Just like you told me the sky would stay cloudy last week?"

I didn't sleep that night.


	2. Chapter 2

I was still awake when the sun came up the next morning, spilling through the cracks in the blinds. I glanced at the alarm clock across the room and sighed.

_ 7:30am _

It was a good thing I didn't have school until Wednesday. I'd scheduled Tuesday as my free day of the week.

I rolled over and fell off my bed about as majestically as a baby giraffe. With a yawn, I stumbled to my feet, and after pulling a light brown sweater over my head, I grabbed my scarf, wrapping it tightly around my neck like before. I gently pushed open the door, wondering if Leo would be asleep yet. I assumed he would, as the sun was out, so it was a surprise when I saw him slumped over at the table, looking miserable.

"Hey, Leo," I said softly. "Are you okay?"

He looked up at me with exhausted purple eyes - not red, I noticed - and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

"These are the days he wishes he could drink coffee," Joel said cheerfully from the counter, taking a long drink from his mug.

"You know what I want," Leo grumbled, picking at the fresh bandage around his wrist.

"There's vegan coffee," I suggested.

"Oh, he knows. He's just too lazy to go buy it."

Vegan vampire ... something was definitely wrong with him - although wrong wasn't a very kind way to put it. Was it a lifestyle that helped him hide what he really was?

I put a piece of bread in the toaster and hovered around it awkwardly while I waited for it to pop. I started to ask where the peanut butter was, and then wondered if I'd seem rude, since I'd only just moved in and we hadn't even settled the things like paying rent and maintenance, and already I was getting into their food.

Joel noticed my internal struggle and pointed at the fridge. "Peanut butter's in there with the jam. Butter and honey are in that cupboard."

"Thanks." I cracked an embarrassed smile. "Sorry I'm already eating your food."

"Nah, it's the first day. Think of it as a gift." Joel laughed a little and almost spilled his coffee. "Speaking of shopping - Leo, you're coming to the store with me."

"I don't want to." Leo leaned over and banged his head on the table.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, quickly analyzing him. Naturally, he'd be exhausted if he'd been up yesterday and all of last night, especially since the sun was up yesterday afternoon.

"He's got insomnia," Joel said casually.

I could detect the lie, but I had to keep them thinking I was just another guy. I didn't move here to find vampires, but maybe that was just a bonus point.

"Sorry about that," I muttered, trying to keep my thoughts to myself. I briefly wondered if he was able to read my mind, but he didn't say anything, and that particular power was pretty rare, so I didn't let myself worry too much.

"Come on, Leo. Get your jacket on and let's go." Joel stuffed a shopping list in his pocket.

"I don't wanna go," Leo whined.

"You're coming and that's final." Joel finished his coffee and slammed the mug down on the counter, marching over to his friend and dragging him off of the table and toward the front door.

I glanced out the window and noticed that it was, in fact, cloudy. However, it was common knowledge that vampires couldn't go outside during the daytime, no matter if it was cloudy or not. And vampires didn't have blood either, and I'd seen him with his finger in his mouth, covered in blood. Was he really a vampire, or some other supernatural? Was that why I hadn't identified him the moment I'd seen him?

"Can I come with you?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent as I could.

"No," Leo snapped immediately.

"Don't be rude," Joel scolded, then turned to me. "Don't you have school, though?"

"Tuesday is my free day," I said. "Though I'm busy tomorrow."

"Oh." There was a note of disappointment in his voice, though he was careful to hide it. "Sure, you can come. You want to shower before, or -"

"I'll do it when I get back," I said, too quickly. "Let me just go change."

I cursed my sudden show of fear as I closed the door to my room. Those were the kind of guys who'd immediately assume something was wrong. That's how supernaturals survived. If you planned for everything to go wrong, you'd never be caught off guard - just pleasantly surprised.

I pulled my sweat pants off and replaced them with jeans. I'd unpacked yesterday, and due to my terrible memory, practically emptied every drawer to try and find them, and only after I'd put them on did I realize that the blinds were still open from last night, out into the street. Hopefully no one had seen me. That's one way to make an impression. I made sure my scarf was covering what it needed to and then found them back in the living room.

Leo was wearing a black jacket with a hood and big pockets, probably to protect himself in case the sun came out. I was interested to see what the daylight through the clouds would do to him, but I quickly shifted my attention before he caught me staring.

Joel zipped up his coat as I walked in and smiled, though it was obviously forced. "Ready?"

I nodded and put my coat on as the three of us shuffled out the door. I watched Leo carefully out of the corner of my eye, but all he did was wince in the bright light, just like the rest of us, as the house was very dark.

The store was only a few blocks down, so we walked there. I was perfectly fine with that, as I usually took the bus to the college campus, which required some walking. I needed to get stronger land legs anyway.

We passed a group of guys a few years older than me, and Joel paused to talk for a little bit. One of them gave off a certain atmosphere, and it took me a moment to determine he was some form of dark spirit, though I couldn't tell which one. It was almost strange to me that the regular people around us couldn't sense it, but I knew only those with special gifts such as myself could actually feel it. Sometimes, having parents like mine had its annoying side effects.

One of them motioned to Leo, who looked slightly more murderous than exhausted at this point, and said, "What's he doing up at this hour? He should be asleep!" A few others chuckled, but it sounded like they either knew exactly what he was talking about, or they thought he was just another guy who needed regular human sleep.

Joel laughed a little with them, and after a few jokes, he pushed Leo away and we were on our way.

I only took a few steps after them before the dark spirit one stepped in front of me. He was tall and bulky, and must've been extremely strong if he was able to take over someone like this. He glared down at me with cold, chilling eyes, and said, "You want them, you're going to have to go through us, first."

_ He knows what I am. _

One of the others grabbed my shoulder roughly, and other started to yank my scarf away. I shrieked a little, both in fear and anger, and forcefully held my scarf in place, bringing my shoulders up as high as I could. My heart was thumping painfully against my chest, and I could barely swallow before I spoke. "Guys, I'm just -"

"Hey, calm down, Raz," Joel called. "He's with us."

Raz narrowed his eyes, seeming to stare into my soul for a long moment, and finally muttered, "He has no idea what he's doing. Let him go."

The other two released me and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Raz gave me a massive shove to send me on my way, and I tripped over myself and almost fell over. Joel caught me before I landed and helped me stand back up. "Don't mind him," he said. "He's a little too superstitious for his own good."

"Come on," Leo yelled from up ahead, irritated. "We don't have all eternity."

I glanced back, but Raz and the others had already walked away. 

We reached the convenience store without any other trouble. Joel marched right in as if he owned the place, and I followed close behind him, determined not to get lost. Leo dragged along behind, even though he'd been the one to yell at us for being too slow. The automatic door closed behind me, and I looked back in time to watch Leo slam right into it and bounce off. I stifled a laugh as I thought of something. Vampires couldn't be seen on camera, so other motion activated things must not work, either. He was just a walking inconvenience.

He caught me staring as I moved to open the door for him and muttered, "Must be broken or something," under his breath. Once in the store, surrounded by people standing far too close for comfort, he raised his shoulders up as if he was trying to shrink into them, and avoided eye contact with everyone. He followed Joel obediently through the aisles, and I decided that I'd seen enough. I had some groceries to pick up, anyway.

I told Joel where I was going and managed to meet them back at the registers after picking up my things. While the two of them were checking out - and stocking up on coconut water, it looked like - Leo started to get antsy and anxious. He started to rock back and forth, shift his weight, and his finger went up to his mouth, and sure enough, I watched him sink his fangs into it. To my confusion, he was bleeding - and  _ sucking his own blood _ .

"Joel," he said slowly, tugging on his friend's sleeve.

Joel shrugged him off until he shook him harder. "What do you want, Leo? We're almost done. Can't it wait?"

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

Leo tilted his head toward the cashier in the other register and muttered something under his breath.

Joel sighed loudly. "Why do I even take you anywhere? Go sit over there, then. You're not twelve. You can take care of yourself."

"Bad day?" the cashier said as he shuffled to a bench farther away. "He looks exhausted."

"He's got insomnia," Joel said, pulling out his card to pay for the groceries. "He didn't sleep at all last night."

"My brother has insomnia. He acts a lot like that, but then he got some medication. Does your friend have a prescription?" the other cashier, the one Leo had motioned to, asked, turning around just enough for me to notice the cross he wore on a chain around his neck. A Christian crucifix. No wonder Leo was bothered. I tried to think back to my lessons, but I couldn't for the life of me remember why vampires were bothered by them. 

So far, almost everything told me Leo was a vampire, but I couldn't figure out why he could go outside during the day, or why he bled when he bit his finger. And what was he doing here? Most of the vampires I'd learned about had migrated to Northern Europe, especially after we'd cleaned them out. We being the society, of course. I had never actually had to deal with one. I'd have to ask Father. He'd wanted a report as soon as I arrived. He had been getting more cautious lately, and I wasn't sure why.

We walked home without any incident, though a few dogs tailed us - or tailed Joel, more accurately - back to the little house. We put our things away, and then Joel told me that he had to go to his part time job. He'd work until about five or six.

"Leo will work through the rent and bills with you," he said as he left again. "Don't let him forget."

I turned to Leo, but he waved his hand tiredly. "I'm gonna take a nap," he muttered, shuffling into the shared bedroom before I could respond.

That left the house mostly to myself. After taking a lightning fast shower, I finished putting my things away and organizing my room, then I explored a little, deciding that it was the perfect time to poke around without either of them knowing. There was nothing of interest. It just looked like a normal house to me.

I gave up after that and sat at the table to do some homework, but I'd done most of it Friday night. I didn't have any big tests coming up, so there wasn't much I needed to study, either.

In short, I was bored.

Eventually, my eyes landed on the piano. They wouldn't mind if I played it a little. Leo was asleep, anyway. I sat down at the bench and played an arpeggio to get a feel for the keys. They had a nice touch, and I immediately fell in love.

Without even thinking, I began to play. It was one of my favorite pieces, an Arabesque by Debussy. It reminded me of the ocean, my home. It gave me a feeling of nostalgia and homesickness. I missed the rushing waters, the tides and reefs, the taste of salt in the air, its many emotions. I played it fast and slow, loud and soft. I could almost feel the ocean spray on my face, hear the seagulls -

"That's beautiful," Leo said softly from behind me.

I spun around quickly in panic, but he was giving me a warm smile. He didn't seem angry that I'd used the piano without permission.

"S-sorry," I stuttered anyway.

He held his hand up. "Don't apologize. We're all musicians here. You're free to use it whenever you want. How long have you been playing?"

"A long time," I mumbled, picking at the end of my scarf.

"Do you sing, too?"

"No," I said quickly. "I don't like my voice."

Leo shrugged. "Fair enough. I bet it's not as bad as you think."

"You have no idea," I grumbled under my breath. The truth was, I loved my voice, I just wasn't comfortable with singing in front of anyone, especially after what happened with the two on the coast with my mother ... no, I'd stopped singing after that. 

"Anyway, if you're finished, Joel's gonna kill me if we don't get this taken care of, so we'll have to go through all the boring financial stuff." Leo rubbed the side of his neck and sighed. "Sorry to interrupt, but he's a monster if we don't follow his budget. Takes after his dad, I guess." He laughed a little. 

"Oh, yeah, of course." I stood up and followed him to the table, where he took out only a half sheet of paper and a pencil. 

"Okay. If it costs $1,826 per month, so far that's $913 for each of us, then adding you would be $1,826 divided by three instead of two, making it $608 and 67 cents, times twelve months, so that's $7,304.04 per year for you. That good?" He scribbled down two numbers on the piece of paper and handed it to me. "You can afford that, right?"

I stared at him blankly and took the paper. There was no way he'd done that all in his head. "That seems awfully high," I said skeptically, only to check. I knew that the cost was well within the average price range.

Leo leaned back on his chair and stared up at the ceiling, biting his lip as he thought. "No, that's right."

"Okay ..." I looked down at my paper, expecting to find some work written somewhere, but there were just two numbers. $608.67/month - $7,304.04/year. "Thanks. Is that all?"

"Yep. Pretty simple math, really. That's why Joel lets me take care of it." Leo smiled a little and stood up, putting some fruit in the blender. I noticed he used a lot of coconut water. 

"So ... are you feeling better, then?" I asked him, trying to seem genuinely concerned.

Almost instantly, he tensed up, just slightly. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Sleep can do miracles, can't it?" He tried to laugh, but it didn't quite come out. His suddenly guarded stance told me that he didn't want to talk about it, so I changed the subject. The last thing I needed was an angry vampire in an unfamiliar house by myself.

"That's good," I said, desperately trying to come up with another topic to talk about. "Are you working on any projects currently? For your music, I mean?"

He didn't relax, but his tone of voice was less cautious when he answered. "Yeah, actually. I'm working on an album. Hopefully it'll be released in December. How about you?"

"Not really." I shrugged. "Most of my extra time on school days is spent practicing at the college. I should've gone today, but I decided I needed a day off."

"Practicing what? The piano?"

"Yeah. I think I'm minoring in piano performance. That takes a lot of practice."

"How long?" Leo pushed the button on the blender and we both jumped as it whirred to life.

I waited until he was finished making his smoothie, and then said, "Usually about two and a half hours a day."

Leo almost spewed out his smoothie as he smothered a laugh. "You're joking, right?"

"Nope." I shrugged again. "Sometimes, it's a little back breaking, but hey, I enjoy it most of the time."

"A  _ little _ back breaking? How do you have time to do anything?"

"On school days, I don't. It's the price I pay, I guess. Because after that, I go straight to work, and sometimes get back pretty late. I got off the hook today."

"Then lucky you." Leo chuckled and took a sip of his smoothie. "You doing anything tonight?"

"No, why?"

"Joel and I invited some guys over for Halloween. You're welcome to hang with us, if you want."

I almost forgot. It was the 31st of October. Personally, I hated Halloween, but I knew supernaturals loved it, since it was a time where they could get closer to showing people what they really were without any suspicion. It would be the perfect time to see what I could find. "Sure, I'll stay, if you guys don't mind."

"Not at all." I could see in his eyes that he minded a lot, but he quickly concealed it. "Plus, you're with us now, and we can't really forbid you to hang out in your own house." Again, he attempted to laugh, and again, it didn't come out.

I smiled back, but I could already feel the dark feeling of nervousness settling over both of us. It was going to be an interesting night.


	3. Chapter 3

When Joel got home, the first thing he did was yell, "ALEX IS COMING??"

"Alex who?" Leo said calmly, looking up from where he was washing the blender.

"AERO ALEX, THAT'S WHO."

Realization dawned in Leo's eyes and he swore under his breath. "Perfect."

"Who's that?" I asked, looking up from the book I was reading.

"A friend," Leo said.

"He ... doesn't get along well with strangers," Joel added, pacing back and forth.

He must be another supernatural. Tonight was  _ definitely _ going to be interesting.

"When are they coming over?" I asked.

"Any second now. Leo give him a call. Some ... heads up."

"I would," Leo said regretfully, "but ... you know ..."

Joel sighed in frustration. "Right. Whatever. I'll do it. Just ... don't let Braken do anything stupid."

I frowned and snapped my book shut. "I'm not going to do anything stupid," I muttered, slightly offended.

"Don't take it personally," Leo said, calling after me as I went to my room.

I ignored him and shut the door, wishing for a lock. I glanced at the bag under my bed and the silver dagger concealed inside, and retrieved my notebook and pen. I added as much information as I could to my lists, but the information I had for Leo heavily outweighed the list for Joel. It made me wonder if Joel was even a supernatural at all.

I don't remember much after that, because I fell asleep, exhausted after staying up all night. I knew exactly how Leo felt. Putting up an act and pretending to sleep at night took its toll. I was just glad I only needed a few hours of human sleep. The moonlight did the rest.

I woke up to the sound of voices - and a lot of them. I climbed out of bed and put my notebook away, glancing at the alarm clock. It was just after eight o'clock. I'd slept for that long?

I shuffled out of my room, rubbing sleep from my eyes, and was hit by a physical blast of music and laugher. Leo and Joel sure knew how to host a party. There were at least a dozen people crammed into the living room kitchen, and one of them, I noticed, was Raz from earlier that morning. He caught me staring at him and scowled, as if warning me to stay away. He didn't have to tell me twice.

"Hey, Braken's up!" Joel shouted to be heard.

"Alex, put those things away," Leo grumbled, and I could have sworn I saw big, black wings on the back of the person he was talking to.

Alex laughed drunkenly. "Ahh, you mean you're gonna ruin all my fun?"

"He doesn't know yet," Leo said, grabbing Alex's shoulders.

"You haven't told him?"

"Told me what?" I asked.

"Nothing!" Joel and Leo said quickly.

"If he's gonna live with you, he should know," Alex said, shrugging. Sure enough, I saw those black wings rise and fall with his shoulders.

"Alex ... has wings?" I pointed, as if I'd just noticed them.

"Just a costume," Joel said.

"Just like your claws," Alex giggled. "And Leo's fangs."

Joel had claws. I added that to my mental list and quickly went over it in my head. Joel had an extremely good sense of smell, dogs followed him home, he was very protective of Leo, even if he wasn't willing to show it, there was something important about the next moon, and now he had claws? The next moon could only mean the next full moon, which was in five days, on November fifth. Full moon and claws ... There was only one thing I could think of that needed a full moon, and that was a werewolf.

But that didn't make sense. Vampires and werewolves had an eternal hatred toward each other, and yet here were two of them living together. I knew for a fact that Leo was a vampire, so that meant I had to be wrong about Joel being a werewolf. No supernatural could resist an instinct like that. I'd seen it before. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't resist it. It had been a tragic event, and I wished we could've stopped it, but there's no stopping fate.

"Hey, Braken, you still on earth?" Joel called.

"Huh?" I blinked, snapped out of my trance. "Yeah. I'm just ... uh ... I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

I ran to the door and threw it open before they could respond. I heard Joel call after me, but I ignored him. I had too much to think about. Plus, I didn't like parties. There were too many people in such a small place.

I wandered down the street to the bus stop and sat down. I knew that since I was out and thinking, Father would notice and come looking. I had some questions to ask him. He knew a million more things about supernaturals than I did. He'd know what to do.

I relaxed on the bench, laying down with my feet propped up on the arm rest, and stared up at the sky. I could already feel the moon replenishing my strength. It was one thing to feel it through a window, but this, being out here, breathing in the pale light - this was something entirely different.

About an hour passed, but I didn't really mind. The moon was so comforting. Now all I needed was the ocean, and I'd be as good as new.

"Sleeping on the job again, aren't you, Braken?"

I opened my eyes a crack and smirked a little. "What are you doing here, Fractal? Thought Father had a job for you. It was supposed to be  _ top secret _ . And I heard you let the witch get away."

I felt Fractal stiffen beside me. "There were some complications. You have no right to talk. You haven't even been assigned a mission. You're too busy going to college and trying to fit in with the puny human race."

"Who's the happier monster?" I asked, grinning. The edges of my teeth felt sharper than normal. "Plus, I get to know people. I hear the gossip. And I found not one, not two, but  _ three _ supernaturals."

"You're bluffing."

"Am I? A vampire, a werewolf, and a fury."

"A child of the Fates? I doubt it. They're all extinct."

"Plus a dark spirit. That makes four."

"Alright then, Fish Breath. Where are they?"

"Fish Breath? Way to be original. Can't tell you. I'm waiting for Father."

Fractal laughed dryly. "Like he'd show up for you. You're his biggest regret. You and your mother."

I opened one eye to glare at him and hissed softly under my breath. "Don't you dare talk about my mother like that."

"What are you gonna do about it, Shark Bait? Of all the monsters out there, he chose that one and made ..." Fractal poked at my arm in distaste. "... this thing."

"You just shut up about my mother!" I ordered, sitting up with another hate filled glare.

Fractal just gave me an icy grin. "Or what?"

"Or I'll bite you."

"Right, your little monster bite is poisonous. How could I possibly have forgotten?"

"Venomous," I corrected.

"Potato, tomato, same thing. If you're so angry, come fight me, my little half brother. You can't win. I'm immortal, unlike some of us."

"Those who aren't immortal learn the meaning of life, because there's no point if life isn't short." I stood up and cracked my knuckles, ready to hammer him into the ground if he said one more thing about my mother.

"Let's go, then. See who's the better species." Fractal stood up and flexed his icy claws. "You probably can't even fight on land."

"Watch me," I hissed, lunging for him. Unlike him, I only had claws on my right hand, and they were much shorter than his, so I already had the disadvantage.

Fractal blocked my swipe and kicked me over, grabbing my scarf. He was right. I couldn't fight on land as well as I could fight in the water. I fell over with a strangled shriek as he slashed his claws across my face - the right side of my face, bouncing off of my hardened skin. I got lucky that time. I was bleeding, but not as bad as it would have been if he'd hit me on the left.

He pinned me down, his cold fingers wrapped around my throat, and I struggled to push him off. He drove his knee into my gut and held my right wrist down against the concrete, grinning at me. "Who's the better species?" he taunted, laughing as I tried again to push him off. It was getting harder to breathe.

"Let go of me," I hissed, wincing. I could feel the black blood trickling down my face.

"You can try your whole life, Braken," Fractal growled, "but you'll never fit in with them. You'll always be a monster."

I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes, but no matter how hard I pushed against him, I wasn't strong enough. His fingers tightened around my throat, and for a moment, I thought I was a goner, but then a familiar, silky voice interrupted us.

"What are you two doing?" Father demanded, his smooth voice hinted with anger.

"Nothing of importance. I was just ridding us of a minor  _ inconvenience _ ," Fractal said, squeezing me for emphasis.

"Don't touch him. You are both my children, and I will not have you wasting your time with useless bickering."

Fractal growled softly, but finally released my throat and climbed off of me. I rolled over onto my side and rubbed my face, smearing blood across my cheek. His claws were as sharp as I remembered. I used the bench to push myself up and gripped it tightly for support. "It's pretty hard to waste time when you're immortal," I muttered, keeping my eyes down and breathing hard.

"What do you have to report, Fractal?" Father asked, standing in front of us. His body glowed like the moon, too bright for me to look at. Fractal had no problem meeting his eyes, as he mostly stuck to the North, with the blinding ice wastelands. I snorted a little in frustration. I'd been the one to summon him, and yet Fractal was still the favorite child.

Fractal didn't answer, however. "I don't have anything to report," he said slowly.

"Then why did you summon me?" Father said, agitated. He was in a bad mood.

Still keeping my eyes down, I raised my hand a little. "I summoned you, Father."

He sighed in annoyance through his nose. "And what do  _ you _ want?"

I stiffened and forced myself to stay calm. Fighting with Father never ended well. "I found four supernaturals."

"Braken, I know you're trying to prove yourself, but lying to me is only destroying our fragile trust."

I took a deep breath. "But I'm not -"

" _ Braken _ ," he said firmly. "None of this."

I heard Fractal snort a laugh beside me and started to get angry, my fists clenched and my teeth barred like a shark. "Father, I swear -"

"I thought I gave you an order. I believe you owe me an apology." 

His quiet tone sent chills down my back, and I finally had to accept that he wasn't going to believe me. "I'm sorry I lied, Father," I said through gritted teeth.

"Good. Don't let it happen again. Now if that's all -"

"Wait - There  _ is _ one supernatural," I said quickly. I had to at least get one of them.

"You're sure?" Father said, and I wished I could look him in the eyes.

"Yes, it's just ..." I paused and rubbed my neck. "He's a vampire, I'm sure of it, with fangs, pale skin, and a weakness to sunlight and silver, plus automatic motion activated things don't work for him."

"I see you learned one thing from your lessons," Father said, still disappointed.

"The problem is ... he can go out during the day as long as it's cloudy or he's covered up. He doesn't sleep during the day, and he claims he's vegan."

There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Just when I started to trust you again, you have to go off claiming you met a  _ vegan vampire _ ." This time, Father chuckled. "Honestly, Braken, you've heard too many stories. Your time with the humans is changing you. You should go back to the ocean where you belong."

"I promise I'm telling the truth. I'm just trying to get help. You know so much more than I do. I can't do it without you," I pleaded. I couldn't give up this opportunity. I wouldn't let them make me a laughing stock again. "I thought you'd know what he was. He sucks his own blood, Father! Something's wrong with him -"

Father's hand suddenly grabbed my scarf and yanked me closer. "What did you say?"

I winced and squeezed my eyes shut, his glowing skin too bright for me to look at. "I'm not going to back down, Father. I promise I'm telling everything as I saw it."

"What did you say?" he demanded.

"Nice going, little brother," Fractal laughed coldly. "Now you'll be fish food for sure."

"I said ..." I paused to take a breath and swallow hard. "The vampire sucks his own blood."

"Does he have a name?" Father growled.

"L-Leo. His name is Leo."

Father released me and stepped back, almost in disbelief. "The half-blood," he whispered. "Good work, Braken. I apologize for ever doubting you before."

It took me a second to recover from my surprise, and when I did, I glanced up at Fractal and flashed him a smug smile. His dumbstruck face was the only thing I wanted to see at the moment. He quickly shook his head and scowled at me. "Someday, Shark Bait, I'll get you back for this," he threatened, turning around and furiously marching away.

"Good luck," I called after him.

"That's enough, Braken," Father said sternly. "Where does this half-blood live?"

"Down the street," I pointed eagerly. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Not so fast." Father looked up at the sky. "Someone is in urgent need of my help. You will keep him contained until further notice. Do you understand?"

I'll admit, even though I finally got him to believe me, I was disappointed he wasn't going to help. "Yes, Father," I mumbled.

"Good. Someday, if you keep this up, you may be the first of the ocean's kind to become a great Hunter."

His words filled my soul with a deep sense of pride and satisfaction. I'd finally done something right. "I will, Father. I promise. I'll make you proud."

Without answering, the glow faded to just the street lamp, and I was left alone.


	4. Chapter 4

I couldn't focus at school the next day. I usually loved college - all the fun people, the music, the challenges - but today, I had something huge on my mind.

I was finally going to make Father proud.

That's what I'd wanted ever since I learned who he was, ever since I learned the story behind my birth. I'd wanted to prove to him that me and my mother were just as good as everyone else. I wanted to finally show these stuck up land dwellers that I could be just as good as they were.

Now I finally had my chance.

My practicing took longer than normal - about four hours, instead of three, but I felt like I didn't make hardly any progress. I showed up at work twenty minutes late and could barely stand, and by the time I got back to the house late that night, I had to shower and pretend to go to sleep. I didn't sleep that night, either.

The next morning, I didn't have class until noon, so I sprang out of bed crashed into the kitchen. Leo was already there, sitting at the table solving a sudoku puzzle as if he was expecting me.

"Hey, Braken," he said.

"Hey," I answered slowly.

"Sit down."

Cautiously, I did what he asked. My hand went up to touch the bandage on my face, covering the scratches from Fractal.

He glanced up at me from the book and sighed. "Look, I'm not going to hide it anymore. I know you already know what I am. Don't worry, I can't read your mind. I can see it in your expression."

"What - what are you talking about?" I stuttered.

"You're a horrible liar." Leo yawned, wide like a cat, the dim light glinting off of his fangs - they were covered in blood. I looked closer and noticed two puncture wounds in his wrist, near his artery. "But - I also know I'm not the only one keeping secrets."

Suddenly, the mood grew a lot darker. I scooted back a little as he leaned forward, on his elbows. "Leo -" I started to say.

"Give me your hand," he said, cutting me off.

Instinctively, I held both hands against my chest, my heart fluttering nervously. "I don't think -"

He reached over the table and grabbed my right hand, holding it gently, even though he took it by force. "It's been four days, Braken. You don't fit in. It's pretty obvious you're not human." I tried to pull my hand back, but he held it firmly, turning it over in his palm. He laced his fingers in between mine, making me uncomfortable, but quickly pulled them away after sensing my discomfort. "Scales," he said almost immediately after, giving me my hand back. "You have scales, and I bet if you took your scarf off, I'd find them."

"No," I said quickly, bringing my shoulders up. How did he know that? How did he figure it out so fast? My heart was thumping like a drum now, and I could feel the sweat trickling down the back of my neck.

"No as in I wouldn't find them, or no as in you don't want me to see?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

"No," I repeated, glancing over my shoulder as if I was searching for an escape. Maybe I was. I don't know.

"Go run your hand under the sink," Leo said, sounding more like an invitation than an order. That was new. Most people who figured out what I was demanded I show them, and once I did, they got me out of there as fast as they could.

"You're not ... going to kick me out?" I asked softly.

Leo laughed. "That wouldn't be fair, would it? A monster like me kicking out a monster like you?"

"But you're not a monster," I said. "You're a supernatural."

"Same thing, really. Just ... higher status, I guess. But I'm not really up there." Now, it was Leo's turn to look uncomfortable. He shifted and rubbed his neck subconsciously, where I noticed two scars, vampire bite marks. I wondered why I hadn't noticed them before. "Outcasts gotta stick together, don't they? I guess since you kept giving me those weird looks every time I'd bite myself, you've figured it out, haven't you?"

"I know you're a vampire, if that's what you mean," I said.

"Close," he said, sighing and rubbing tongue over his fangs.

"And you bleed, so you're ... a hybrid? No offence or anything. I know hybrids aren't really as 'elite' or whatever they want to call it." My voice held a bitter note. I knew exactly what being a hybrid felt like.

"A half-blood," he agreed. "And you are ...?"

"If I show you my scales, will you tell me how you became a half-blood?" I asked, regretting it almost immediately as I saw his expression darken. "I mean, you don't have to -"

"I'll talk to Joel about it," he said, "if you'll show me your scales. If I decide to tell you, you tell me exactly what you are, deal?"

I hesitated.  _ Exactly _ what I was? I couldn't do that. I couldn't tell him who my father was. "Deal," I said, standing up and turning on the sink. I stared at the running water and sighed, holding my right hand up. I hadn't shown anyone my scales in a long time. My last roommate hadn't wanted to hear it. He'd just booted me out of there as soon as I'd said the words "I'm a monster."

Leo wasn't like that, though. He seemed to know exactly how I felt. Like he was a monster, too.

I dipped my hand under the water and let the warmth flow over my skin. My human skin began to fade away, revealing glimmering green blue scales, complete with thin webbing between my fingers.

Leo caught his breath, not in fear or disgust like everyone else, but in amazement. "They're beautiful," he breathed.

I felt my face flush red, and my scales grew a little pink around the edges. "That's the first time anyone's ever said that."

"Really?" He seemed so surprised, like he'd never expected it.

I laughed dryly. "The first thing they do is scream, and the next thing I know, they're after me with a gun or a knife, calling the police or the animal control, like I'm some sort of demon coming to possess their souls or eat their children."

Leo sensed my sudden anger. "You're upset," he said gently, taking my scaly hand and running his fingers across my arm.

"Of course I'm upset!" I snapped, yanking my hand back and flicking water at him. "Do you have any idea how that feels? Everyone's so eager to love you when you're who they want you to be, but as soon as you show your true self, you become a monster. Something that doesn't deserve anyone's love. Why'd I even show you? You don't understand." I turned away from him, tears burning in my eyes. This happened every time I talked about my scales. I started to cry like a baby. Maybe because the salty tears reminded me of where I really belonged. I didn't belong up here on dry land. I belonged in the depths of the ocean, where no one would see me.

"Do you sing when you're upset?" Leo asked.

I didn't answer. I just kept my eyes glued to the oven clock, counting the seconds in my head until the minute changed.

_ "When all of your wind has gone,  _

_ And all of the paths you've drawn _

_ Have sunk to the ocean sand _

_ Where no one can see you stand, _

_ Don't let the dark embrace _

_ Cower the dreams you chase.  _

_ Under the rust and blood,  _

_ Don't let yourself _

_ Give up." _

I glanced over my shoulder, rubbing my face with my left hand. Leo put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly. I tensed up, but I didn't move.

The front door opened, and Joel said, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," Leo said.

"Is ... is Braken okay?"

When I didn't answer, Leo spoke instead. "He'll be okay, won't you?" I just nodded a little and wrapped my scaly hand up in my scarf. "I won't tell him," he whispered. "Promise." I glanced at him again and he flashed me a smile, and even with his fangs, it was warm and comforting. "Go play the piano for a few minutes. That'll help."

I nodded again, dropping my eyes back down to the floor. I shuffled over to the piano, and as Leo lead Joel into their bedroom, I began to play. I played the same song I'd played earlier, the Arabesque, and almost instantly, felt relief wash over me like a wave. I watched my right hand, the hand Leo called beautiful, dance across the keys with as much grace as my left hand did, with all the elegance of human fingers. Even after I finished the song, I kept it on the piano keys, staring at it until it dried out and the illusion of human skin replaced the glimmering scales, deep blue in heartache. They  _ were _ pretty.

...

"So you figured it out, huh?" Joel's voice came from behind the door to my room.

I just glanced over and resumed staring at the ceiling. This was maybe the fifth or sixth time he'd attempted to get me to open the door. It was dinner time, and I determined nothing but food was going to get me out of here.

"Leo said you liked seafood, right? I cooked you a salmon. He said you had something to tell me."

"I'm not hungry," I muttered, rephrasing my earlier thought. I held up my right hand and let the setting sun's rays wash over my fingers. If I tilted it just right, I could almost see a tint of green.

"Aww, come on. It tastes awesome. Even Leo said it smells good, and he's vegan."

"He was lying." I rolled onto my stomach and planted my face in my pillow, where I had no intention to move from any time soon.

"Come on, Braken." That was Leo's gentle voice. Who knew vampires could be so kind? I was told all they wanted was to suck the life right out of you. "I'll tell you my story if you show Joel."

"Show me what?" Joel asked.

"That's his choice, not mine," Leo said, staying true to his promise.

Even so, it felt like I had no choice. I sighed and stood up, picking up my scarf from off of the floor. I ran my fingers across the soft fabric, and then put it down on my bed. I suddenly felt much more exposed, and my hand seemed to find a permanent place up at my neck, covering the patch of scales even my illusions couldn't cover.

I pushed opened the door and found Leo smiling back at me. "You're not wearing your scarf," he noticed. "May I see?"

I shook my head. "Not yet." I lowered my voice a little. "You're sure Joel won't kick me out?"

"After what he's been through? No, he won't. Outcasts gotta stick together."

Gently, he led me into the kitchen, and I suddenly felt like a lost puppy, afraid to venture into a new place. He had to give me a little push just before I reached the table. Why was I trusting them? What would Father say? I'm supposed to be a hunter, not ... not this emotional shipwreck.

"Hey, Braken. Is everything okay?" Joel asked. They both sounded so kind. Why couldn't the rest of the world be like these two?

Because the rest of the world didn't know what it felt like to be cast off, to be hated because of how you were born. The rest of the world didn't know what it felt like to literally be the only one of your kind. These guys did.

"I have something to show you," I said, keeping my eyes down.

"Sure. What is it?"

I wandered slowly over to the kitchen sink, and turned on the water. This time, I hesitated a lot longer. Neither of them urged me, or even said anything. Finally, I gathered enough courage to stick my hand under the water. I closed my eyes and pretended I was back on the coast, dipping my hand into the cool waters of the ocean, and suddenly, everything felt better. I heard Joel gasp, just like Leo did, but I didn't care. I felt free. Funny how a little water and a little imagination can do that to me.

Before I knew it, I was telling them everything - almost everything. I laughed a little, cried a lot, and generally felt better than I had in a long time. I showed them the scales on my neck, how they traveled down my arm and across my chest, and I told them all about my mother. My beautiful mother, the siren. The monster.

"She has the prettiest voice in the whole world," I said, taking a bite of my salmon and sighing softly. It  _ did _ taste awesome. Again, my thoughts returned to Father. What would he do if he found out I'd told them what I was? I hadn't told them about him, or about being a Hunter. There was no harm in it, was there? It was just giving them a reason to trust me ... only so I could go and break their trust. The thing is - I didn't want to hurt them, not after getting to know them. Father said that supernaturals were the worst kind of creatures, that they only existed to kill. He was wrong. That was something I hadn't expected to ever think.

"You're part siren?" Joel asked in surprise.

"Is that why you refused to sing for me?" Leo said, making an important connection.

I nodded and finished off the salmon, licking my lips in satisfaction. "Bad things always happen when I sing. It's like I'm destined for bad luck." I paused, and when they didn't say anything else, I turned to Leo. "Are you going to tell me about you, now?"

He dropped his eyes and stared at his salad. "Yeah. I guess I'd better."

Immediately, I felt the atmosphere change, grow depressing and sad. I watched Joel put his arm around his friend's shoulder and I shifted in my seat awkwardly. I hadn't expected this. I almost didn't want to know.

"Eighty eight years ago," he said softly, "in the late twenties, early thirties, a full-blood vampire found my human mom and ... late one night, took her by force, and ran off. She got pregnant, but didn't dare tell anyone. She ran away from home, gave birth to me, to this ... thing." He motioned roughly to himself, and Joel squeezed his shoulder encouragingly. "But I didn't grow. It took me four years to grow to a normal one year old's size, and four more to become a toddler. Eight years is a long time for a young, single mother with a monster child. When I was about the size of a six year old or so, twenty four years later, the vampire, my father, my lying, cheating, rapist father finally decided to come back."

I rubbed my neck uncomfortably. I didn't like hearing this story. I felt like I was intruding on very, very personal information I didn't deserve yet. We'd only known each other for four days. It felt like four long years.

"He didn't come back to help her," Leo said, his hate-filled glare burning into his plate. "No, he came back to get rid of me, because I wasn't full-blood. I was a disgrace to his race - but it was his own fault! If he hadn't taken her, if he hadn't insisted, he wouldn't have made a fool of himself! It's his own fault!" His voice had risen until he was nearly shouting, not at us, but at his father, as if the full-blood could hear him. "He thought that if he drained my blood, my life, he'd take care of the problem, but he only made it worse." He laughed heartlessly, the first sign of soullessness I'd seen in him. "He made me this way. He made me crave blood, once a month, on the full moon of all days - he made me unable to play outside in the sunlight with the rest of the kids - he's the one who made me a vampire in the first place!" He swiped his hand across the table, scattering his plate and salad across the floor and pushing away from Joel's support.

We both let him go, watching as he threw the door open and vanished out into the night.

"I shouldn't've said anything," I muttered.

"It's okay," Joel said. "He's ... it may not seem like a good thing, but sometimes, it's better to let him explode every once in a while, before he goes crazy over nothing."

I nodded again, rubbing my neck, and then turned to face him. "So ... you. Are you ...?" I glanced down at his hands, and sure enough, I could see little claws. It looked like he'd tried to file them down, or clip them off. "You're a werewolf, aren't you?"

Joel frowned. "How'd you know?"

"Silver, the next moon - in two days, I might add, and you're getting anxious, those dogs following us home, your claws, plus ... no offence or anything, but ... you smell like wet dog when you shower."

He growled softly under his breath. "I thought Leo was just teasing me. You're serious?"

I nodded and rubbed my left hand over my right's scales. It felt good to air them out a little.

He sighed and smiled a little. "Well, guess I gotta go get some more cologne. Leo's gonna kill me."

"Why?"

"Both of us - and you, too, I guess - have a highly alert sense of smell. He hates when I wear smelly stuff."

"Oh. Makes sense." I let my eyes wander around the kitchen. "So ... why don't you hate each other?"

"You've heard about that?"

"The eternal hatred? Yeah, everyone has. I've seen it work. I've seen it ... I've seen it destroy relationships."

Joel hesitated and didn't say anything for a long moment. "He's different," he finally said.

I nodded in agreement. Leo was different. I didn't have to know he was a half-blood to know that. The way he acted, his kindness and generosity - no other vampire was like that. Honestly, not a lot of other supernaturals were like that, either.

"I don't know, really," Joel said, staring up at the ceiling. "I ran into a full-blood a couple years ago, and I just  _ hated _ him. I hated his guts for no reason at all. Maybe because he smelled horrible. Maybe that's just a werewolf thing, I don't know. He was stuck up, haughty, and he was a jerk. They're not kidding when they say vampires don't have a soul. He was about as soulless as you can get. But Leo ... He made me start to think that this whole 'eternal grudge' thing was completely pointless."

"What did the rest of your pack do, once they found out you were friends with a vampire?" I asked softly.

"I've got a million problems, and almost all of them are because of him." Joel chuckled and took a drink of water. "They all went after him. You know a lot about supernaturals, so I'm assuming you know about a werewolf's power, correct?"

"They have the ability to kill vampires," I muttered.

"I got us out of there as fast as I could, and we moved up here. The thing is ..." Joel sighed and swirled his water cup. "Living with Leo is putting a target on my back. It seems as though everyone wants to kill him, for being half human. And since he's only slightly immortal, it's not as hard as you'd think."

My thoughts drifted back to my father. Even he wanted to get Leo, and he never bothered himself with small, easy cases. He left those to us. "But it's not his fault," I said. "That's not fair."

Joel smiled sadly and gestured to my hand. "Life isn't fair. You know that better than either of us, don't you?"

I looked down at my hand, watching the illusion cover the scales again. I  _ did _ know that better than anyone. I was pushed away by humans, a disgrace to the ocean, a disappointment to my father, and bullied even by other hybrids like Fractal, all because of my parents' choices.

"Well," I said. "Outcasts gotta stick together."

Joel grinned at me, but before he could say anything, Leo burst back in through the front door.

"Joel!" he screeched. "Why didn't you tell me your family was coming over?!"


	5. Chapter 5

Joel stared at him, and then swore softly. "I completely forgot. I'm sorry, Leo. If I'd known, I wouldn't have let you go."

"They know I'm here!" Leo shrieked. He sounded ... terrified.

"What's so bad about Joel's family?" I asked, rubbing my neck.

"WHAT'S SO BAD -" Leo spun a frantic circle and dug his hands through his hair.

"Hey, calm down," Joel said, trying to sit him down in his chair.

"They want to kill me!"

"Are they werewolves, too?" I asked.

"Yes! And  _ they want to kill me _ !" Leo screeched.

"They don't -" Joel started.

"Ben and Seth tied me up in the back yard at  _ noon _ ! At  _ noon _ , Joel! Do you know what's out at noon?"

"Hot girls?" Joel suggested.

"THE SUN IS OUT AT NOON, JOEL."

"Ouch." I winced just thinking about it. "You mean -"

"Hands behind my back, ankles tied together, duct taped my mouth shut so I couldn't even scream -" Leo could barely talk; he was breathing so hard.

"Animal abuse," Joel declared.

Leo hit him hard. "This isn't funny, Joel! It identifies as torture! I don't think you've ever been laying there, helpless as you feel yourself quite literally  _ burning up _ and you can't even cry for help! You weren't even home!"

"It wasn't that long -"

"I was there for  _ four hours _ !" Leo paced back and forth, chewing on his finger. Apparently, his finger wasn't satisfying enough, because he tipped his hand over and bit into his wrist. I winced as I saw the scarlet blood trickle down his arm, but I didn't say anything.

"Leo ..." Joel whined.

"Shut up," he growled through the mouthful of flesh. I quickly realized how disgusting that sounded and tried to rephrase it, but it was too late. It was forever burned in my mind.

"When will they be here?" I asked.

"At about nine tomorrow morning," Joel said. "If I remember correctly."

"They'll be here by seven," Leo muttered. "They were close."

"How could you tell?" I shifted nervously in my chair.

"Werewolves stink. I could smell them."

Joel put his hand on his heart in mock offence. "How dare you insult me like that, you stinking leech!"

"Shut up, you mutt."

Joel grinned, flashing slightly pointed teeth. "Cannibal."

Leo's pale face turned red in embarrassment, and he dropped his hand to his side. "Flea bag," he hissed.

"Night crawler."

"Scruffy tramp."

"Life-sucker."

"Butt-sniffer."

"Filthy half-blood."

"That was uncalled for," Leo growled, balling his hands into fists.

"Guys," I said quickly, hoping to break up the fight before it got out of hand.

They both turned to look at me, and we were silent for a minute. Then Joel's eyes lit up, and he said, "Can I call you Chum Bucket?"

I recoiled a little in surprise. "What? No!"

"How 'bout Fish Food?"

"No, Joel."

He paused to think, tapping his chin. "Shark Bait?"

I flinched and dropped my eyes down, suddenly reminded of my job. My job that would lead to the death of one or both of them. "Definitely not."

"Sorry, did I take it too far?" he murmured.

"Just a little."

"I need a hiding spot. Somewhere they'll never find me," Leo said, back to his frantic state.

"You could hide in my room," I suggested. "Then we have a good excuse to keep them out of there."

"Good idea. Let's do it. Let's do it."

...

The next morning, there wasn't even a knock at the door. They just marched right in. Joel looked up from his cup of coffee, and I chewed on my pencil as I studied them.

There were two of them, male and female, and both had the same face shape as Joel. There was no way they  _ weren't _ related. The brother had blonde hair that stood up high above his forehead, and eyes that told me he was the kind of guy to do really stupid things for the views on YouTube.

His sister was pretty. Beautiful, even. I couldn't deny that. She had brown hair that flowed down her shoulders perfectly, and her make up highlighted the beauty in her face, instead of attempting to create it.

Even so, I could tell that they both weren't as kind as they seemed. They had this air about them, and I immediately didn't trust them.

"Smells like fish," the brother commented.

"You can thank Bubbles for that," Joel said, taking a long drink.

"Where's the half-blood?"

"Relax, he's not here. You're stuck with Bubbles instead."

I shot Joel a glare, but he just shrugged and took another drink of coffee. With a soft sigh, I stood up and walked over to them, holding my hand out. "Hey. I'm Braken. Nice to meet you."

The female glanced at my hand. "That's your left," she said disapprovingly.

I gave her a wry smile and switched. "Very observant." I knew just by the look in her eyes that she knew exactly what I was as she shook my hand.

The brother didn't even bother to shake my hand. "You smell like the ocean," he said.

"And you smell like wet dog. Nice to meet you, too."

He blinked in surprise, as if he'd never expected someone to insult him like that. "Did you really just say that?"

"If you stick around, I might could do better," I answered, returning to the table.

"That's Kessia, and that's Ben," Joel said, waving his hand at them.

"I'm assuming he already knows our condition?" Kessia said.

"You're both werewolves, yeah. I'm not that stupid." I bit into a strawberry and grinned at them.

"And you're some sort of sea monster, we know," she said hotly.

"We do?" Ben whispered.

"I'd really prefer a different word, you know, since monster usually has a negative connotation, implying that we're just creatures who have no thoughts but to kill, and I'm pretty sure I'm higher up on the sophistication scale than both of you." I popped another strawberry into my mouth in satisfaction. It was fun to finally speak my mind for once. Usually, I was around superiors who could easily kill me with a snap of their jaws.

"Be nice, Braken," Joel said, though he seemed to be enjoying it as much as I was.

"I don't like him," Ben growled.

"Big surprise," I muttered.

"And where's Leo? The whole situation is too fishy."

Joel and I burst out laughing, and Kessia tried to join in, if only to get on my good side. Like that would work.

"So where's Seth?" Joel asked.

"Dad finally got him a mate," Ben said, sitting on the table across from me.

"Really? Took him long enough. You got one, yet, Kessia?"

"Not yet," she said, eyeing me as I ate another piece of fruit.

"Not interested, pooch," I said through a mouthful.

Ben and Joel barked a laugh, and Kessia huffed in disgust.

Then Ben paused and inhaled slowly. "Oh, he's here alright," he said softly.

"Who?" Joel asked, starting to get off of the counter.

They didn't answer. Both of them instead took off down the hall with incredible speed, heading to my room.

They were going after Leo.

"Do something!" I shrieked.

Joel and I both ran after them, but by the time I'd made it to the hallway, Leo was already escaping in the other direction. We collided and I fell over backward as he vaulted over me, flying into the kitchen while constantly screaming like a seagull.

Kessia jumped over me, too, but I grabbed her leg and she landed with a thump on top of me. "I thought you weren't interested, Angel Fish," she mocked, giving me a smug grin as I wrapped my arms around her to keep her from getting up.

"Changed my mind, princess." I gave her a nice big kiss, catching her off guard, and she broke it with a slap across the face. I completely deserved it. She scrambled to her feet, her foot sinking into my stomach, and resumed the chase, leaving me curled up on the floor, trying to catch my breath.

"Joel, do something!" Leo screamed. I pulled myself up in time to see him launch himself over the couch, only to trip and face plant on the floor.

"Guys, stop it!" Joel shouted, his voice cracking.

They didn't listen. Ben pinned him down on his back by his wrists, giving him a wolfish grin. Kessia knelt beside him, flexing her claws. "Dad will have fun with you, half-blood."

Joel tackled Ben from behind, and both of them landed on top of Leo, who let out a squeal. I scrambled to my feet, but tripped before I could attack, and knocked Kessia over onto all three of them.

"Can't breathe -" Leo wheezed.

I pulled Kessia off and we both stood up quickly, ready to fight again. I wasn't afraid to use my claws, but I wasn't sure about using them on Joel's sister. I glanced at the two brothers wrestling and rephrased my statement. They looked like they were trying to kill each other, so I determined he wouldn't mind too much.

Kessia took a step forward and I instinctively backed up. "How dare you kiss me like that?" she growled, taking me by surprise.

"You're bringing that up now?" I let out a strained laugh. "Really?"

She cut me off with another slap and I jerked to the side. She hit hard.

"Oh, come on. What did I do to deserve that one?" I complained.

"You taste like dead fish," she hissed, as if that was the best insult she could come up with.

"And you taste like a live one." I shrugged and tackled her, and once she was down, I grabbed Leo's wrist and dragged him to his feet. I snagged Joel's coat on the way out the door and shoved it in his arms. "Come on, we're getting out of here."

Leo just nodded, too out of breath to answer. He pulled the coat over his arms and covered his head with the hood, and then we burst out into the sunlight. Leo shrieked and covered his face with his arm, but I kept pulling him along.

"Don't think you can run forever, Angel Fish," Kessia laughed as we sprinted down the street. "I know exactly what you're here for. Why defend that thing when you're just going to turn him in later?"

"What is she talking about?" Leo breathed.

"Nothing," I lied, and then paused. No, I  _ wasn't _ going to turn him in. I wasn't going to be that monster. "Nothing," I repeated, and this time, I meant it. I wasn't going to turn him in. Not anymore.

Outcasts gotta stick together.

...

"Can I ask you something?" Leo said, panting as he tried to catch his breath. We were sitting on a bench under the shade of a big tree, attempting to think up a good plan.

"Sure," I said, glancing at him. My legs hurt so bad. I hadn't run that far in a long time. It had been a few hours, and I'd almost collapsed in the street.

"How much money, how much glory would you sell me for?"

The question caught me completely off guard. "W-what?" I stuttered.

"You heard me." He kept his eyes glued to the sidewalk, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I wouldn't sell you, Leo. Why are you asking me this?"

"Five days," he said, turning to look at me. "You showed up five days ago, six days before the next moon, far too eager to study us. You know so much about monsters and supernaturals, but you come from the ocean. You told us all about your mother, but nothing about your father. What are you really?"

Instead of with kindness, like the last time he'd asked this question, his eyes were lit with anger and fear.

"I told you already," I said hesitantly.

"You're half siren and half what?" Leo asked coldly. "In case you weren't aware, it takes two things to make a hybrid."

I couldn't tell him. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. I couldn't give that up. That's what I'd been wanting more than anything. Even more than Father's praise, especially if I'd have to kill my only friends to get it.

Leo took my silence as an answer. "You're a Hunter, aren't you? You're here to kill us."

"No," I insisted. "No, I'm not. I like you guys. I really do, and I appreciate your kindness. You just ... you don't understand."

"No, I don't. If you're not a Hunter, then why ..." Leo suddenly grabbed my scarf and yanked me forward until our noses were touching, barring his teeth.

I don't think I'd ever been as guilty, as regretful as I was then. The fear and the guilt battled for dominance in my chest. I could barely breathe, and I was shaking. I knew he could see the terror in my eyes. He knew he was close to the truth.

"Then why, Braken, do you have a silver dagger in your bag?"

His glare burned right through my soul. I couldn't answer. The words wouldn't come out. My eyes were drawn to his fangs, and he laughed coldly, running his tongue over them.

"You know," he said slowly, his grip tightening on my scarf. He started to pull it away, exposing my scales - no, exposing the soft flesh on my neck. "Sea monster blood is like vampire crack."

"L-Leo -" I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move.

"It's about time I had something to get my mind off of my messed up life," he said. Now he wasn't meeting my gaze. He was staring hungrily at my neck.

He lunged forward and I had only enough time to scream his name before he sunk his fangs into my neck. My weak stomach lurched, and before he could even taste my blood, I lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, Shark Bait, you still alive?"

I let out a little whimper as I tried to shift my weight. Where was I? What was going on? Why was everything so dark?

"Hold still, little brother. You're not in super great condition." The speaker chuckled and finally, I was able to recognize him. Fractal. I'd been saved by  _ Fractal, _ of all monsters.

I felt him set me down on something soft and immediately tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down.

"Calm down. You're going to be fine. Father's coming."

No.  _ No _ . Father couldn't see me like this. He'd send me back to the ocean. He'd kill them for sure.

What happened?

I tried to voice my question, and thankfully, Fractal understood. "I was sent to check up on you, lucky for you." He snickered, then cleared his throat and continued. "The half-blood suddenly grabbed you and bit you - I got there before he got too much, but he was gone before I could catch him. Also lucky for you - since he's a half-blood, he won't turn you into one. That'd be a mess."

Something warm and wet pressed against my neck and I sucked in a breath of pain. "Why'd -" I grimaced as Fractal washed the two fang marks and then tried again. "Why'd you save me? You don't even like me."

"Because you're one of us, whether I like it or not. Do you want me to fill up the bathtub?"

"Yes, please," I mumbled.

"With salt?"

I just nodded, a lump forming in my throat. Not only had I betrayed Father, but I betrayed my friends, the only two who'd ever accepted me. Now I had nowhere to go. I was completely alone. What would Mother say? I missed her so much.

Fractal came back as my vision started to return. I could tell that I was in a dark house now, almost like Leo's and Joel's. I missed them, too - well, Leo ... not so much on a friendly level. I wanted to apologize. He deserved to know the truth.

The ice hybrid gently lifted me up and carried me to the bathroom, where he helped me take off my clothes and get into the water. Almost immediately, I felt relief wash through me, and by the time I opened my eyes again, my scales had covered my entire arm, up my cheek, across my chest, and down my waist. It didn't stop there - no, scales replaced human skin down to my toes, the long, beautiful fish tail too big to fit in the tub.

"Mermaid," Fractal coughed.

"I'm not a mermaid," I muttered. "I'm a siren."

"You have a human top and a fish bottom. You're a mermaid, Shark Bait."

I swished my tail in annoyance, but I was too tired to come up with a better response. I felt dizzy and lightheaded and sick, and I wanted nothing but to sleep. I picked at the bandage at my neck and sighed loudly. Just when I thought someone trusted me, I completely blew it.

"Don't touch that," Fractal said. "It's a miracle you weren't sucked dry. Don't make it worse."

I sighed again and tried to sink deeper into the water. The salt made me homesick. I wanted to go home. "When will Father be here?" I mumbled.

"Soon. In twenty minutes, or so. I alerted him of your condition the second I saw you."

The minutes passed far too fast. I was terrified of what he'd say, and before I could think of a way to defend myself, he was standing over me in distaste. He didn't say anything. He just stood there and frowned. I tried to keep my eyes down, but his reflection was just a blinding as his body, and I had to squint to see anything.

"Sorry," I finally mumbled.

"Words cannot describe how disappointed I am," Father said, his voice low.

Each word hit me like a knife to my heart. My scales turned a deep shade of pink and I tried to scoot lower in the tub. I wished it was bigger. All I'd wanted to do was prove myself, and instead, I'd made a fool of myself, just like I always did.

"I thought I could trust you, Braken, but I overestimated your abilities. You're too soft, just like your mother."

I kept my head ducked, feeling tears burning in my eyes. I pulled my tail up to my chest, rubbing my fingers over the smooth scales to calm myself.

"And look at you." Father used his spear to lift up the end of my tail. I tried to pull it back, but he stabbed the point into the fin to keep it in place. I winced, but it didn't hurt that bad unless I tugged. "Pink? You don't look like a monster. You look like something from a little girl's fairytale. How did a monster like your mother and a being such as myself create this thing?"

"Mermaid," Fractal snorted.

"I'm not -" I started, but Father wacked me hard with his spear. Speaking of spears - why did he bring it? He only brought it to the most important, the most dangerous missions. Usually ones involving vampires and werewolves.

"I don't want you going out there ever again, do you understand?" Father ordered. "Tomorrow night, after I've taken care of that half-blood, you're going back to the ocean."

" _ What _ ?! But Father -" I protested, earning another hit on the head.

"No, Braken, you've failed me for the last time." Father lowered his spear until the point rested against my chest. I swallowed nervously and glanced up at him, only to wince in the bright light and drop my eyes back to the spear point. "You are a disgrace to the ocean, a disgrace to your mother, and a disgrace to me. If you ever try to come back, if you ever dare show your face here again, you will find a fate far worse than you can ever imagine. Am I clear?"

I couldn't speak. I just opened and closed my mouth like a blubbering fish. I covered my mouth with my hand as I started to cry, and squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't leave. I couldn't stay away. I loved the ocean, but I loved this world, too. It was so diverse, so different. I couldn't leave these people. I loved the people. I loved everything about it.

He pushed the point harder against me, and I couldn't stop. I just kept crying and crying. So much for proving myself.

"I said,  _ am I clear _ ?" he growled.

"Yes, Father," I choked out.

"Good," he said, turning to leave the bathroom. "See that I am. I am calling Fractal to take over your Hunt. Don't even think about causing any trouble while you're here, Braken. Don't make me regret letting you live."

And with that, he swept out of the room.

Fractal hesitated at the door. "Hey, Shark Bait - Braken," he corrected softly, pausing again. "I'm sorry."

And then I was alone.

...

I don't know how long I sat there, but I fell asleep, and when I woke up, the water was cold. I swished my tail around, as if that would make it warm again, feeling nothing but emptiness inside. Father was going to make me leave the world above forever. I'd never be able to come back. He was going after my friends, the ones I trusted with my life. And they - they'd trusted me with theirs. 

And I was just going to sit here and let it happen? 

I knew Father would wait until tomorrow night, during the full moon, to strike. He'd go for Leo, because he hadn't believed me when I told him about Joel; however, I was sure they'd be together, and Joel would be in his feral form, so that meant Father would find them both. He was never surprised, though, so that ruled out a surprise attack. With that silver spear of his, he'd be able to kill both of them. Plus, a spear worked just as well on humans or anything else that got in his way.

I'd need to warn them. They wouldn't be able to outrun him, as he would always find them, but they could at least be prepared. Silver could kill my father as well, as well as special types of salt, though that was irrelevant, since I didn't have any. He was literally the spawn of the moon, so he'd be at full strength tomorrow night. Leo would probably be crazy for blood, and Joel would be wolf, prowling the streets. And me - I would still be stuck as a mermaid in this stupid tub. 

I had to at least try. 

With much difficulty, I wiggled around and pulled the plug in the bathtub. The water drained slowly, leaving me freezing and feeling completely exposed. I wouldn't get my legs back until I dried out, which would take forever in conditions like this, so I needed a towel. There weren't any on the towel racks, much to my inconvenience. 

I pushed myself up over the side of the bathtub and fell face first onto the floor with a squeal. I tried to use my tail to push myself all the way out, as half of me was still at the bottom of the tub, but I didn't realize how very frustrating having a tail was until I needed to go somewhere fast. All I could do was slap it against the tile wall. 

Finally, I managed to drag myself out onto the floor, splashing in a puddle of water. I was making a mess, but I didn't care - at least until I remembered that water on the floor meant I was going to be wet for a long time. I tried to scoot across the tile, toward the door, because maybe there'd be carpet out there I could dry myself on, but that didn't work, either. I got stuck on the wet rug. There was too much water everywhere. That's something I never thought I'd say.

The next thing that caught my attention was the toilet paper, but that was a disaster. It just shredded to bits and stuck to my scales, and I used all of it before I even made a little progress. I'd have to make it to the door. 

I felt like a complete idiot as I flopped myself over. I was literally a fish out of water. But  _ finally _ , I made it. I lifted myself up and grasped the handle, my upper body burning from the strain. Of course, swimming used those muscles a lot, but I hadn't actually been swimming in years. I guess I needed to get out more. I needed to find time to be myself, because Fractal was right. I'd never fit in with the human race, not completely. I needed to accept that I could be with them, as long as I could stay true to myself.

I finally got the door open with a triumphant cry, but then I fell over onto the carpet with a yelp. I was still very dizzy, and it took me a moment to clear my vision. I rolled over onto the carpet and stared at the ceiling, resting for a minute as I caught my breath. I was angry and frustrated it had taken me so long to get out, and my emotions reflected in my scales. While they had been blue and black when I'd woken up, they were now turning a fiery red. I waved my tail through the air and sighed again. Why did air drying have to take  _ so long _ ? 

The grandfather clock in the other room announced that it was nearly nine o'clock. Nine at night. I'd slept all day. I was running out of time.

I gave myself another minute to rest, and then began my awkward flopping again, up and down the hall to dry off on the carpet. I hoped whoever lived here didn't mind having wet carpet or a puddle of salt water in their bathroom.

At last, the scales on my arm and across my chest began to fade, and I was never so excited about it. I watched in eager anticipation as human skin replaced them, all the way down my legs - my wonderful, land legs, and my siren tail disappeared. I quickly ran into the bathroom to get my clothes, only to slip and fall on the wet tile. I quickly dried my legs off with my shirt before the scales could return, and pulled my clothes on as fast as I could. I couldn't find my scarf. I looked everywhere, but it wasn't there. I couldn't go out in public without it. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a banana, needing something to eat before I ran out there again, and continued searching while I ate. It was gone. I guess Father thought I wasn't going to go out there without it. 

Well, he was wrong.

There was a bitter, freezing wind blowing, but there wasn't any sign of rain. That was good. The last thing I needed was to be stuck on the sidewalk as a fish. I pulled my sweater collar up as high as it could go, but it didn't cover my scales or the bandage. I was still dizzy and lightheaded, most likely from blood loss, but I wouldn't stop now. Fractal said Leo hadn't gotten very much out of me, so I should be fine.

The moon was covered by wispy white clouds, its light flooding the streets every minute or two, before a cloud covered it up. I could feel a bit of strength returning to my body - stamina strength, instead of health, like the salt water had done.

I needed to get back to the little house. I needed to apologize and warn Leo and Joel, and I needed my knife, just in case Father tried to attack me. Plus, I was freezing, especially since my hair was still damp. I needed to warm up. 

I walked down the street, but I had no idea where I was, and no idea how to get around. I wasn't familiar with this neighborhood. There were a few people out, but they paid no attention to me. I tried to remember landmarks on the street - I didn't want to give out an address, in case Fractal or Father were listening - so I could get directions, but my brain wasn't working. I was so cold. 

"Hey, you lost or something?" someone said behind me. 

I turned around, surprised, and nodded. 

"Where are you going?"

I gave him the address, ready to give up.

"There?" he asked in disbelief. "That's all the way across town!"

"I just-st need directions, s-sir," I said, shivering violently. 

He gave them to me, and gave me a reluctant look as I turned and walked away. I was a lot farther from home than I'd thought. 

The walk took me nearly two hours, as I had to stop and warm my toes every once in a while. They weren't quite numb, but they were so cold, it hurt. My whole body felt like that. I thought my ears and my nose would fall off. 

Finally, I trudged up the single step to the house and took a deep breath, feeling like I had the first day I'd come - wondering if these two would end up like everyone else. I tried to knock on the door, but it hurt too much, and I just made my dry knuckles crack and bleed. I rang the doorbell instead, and stepped back, hugging myself in an attempt to keep warm.

Leo opened the door, took one look at me, and said, "Nope." Before I could even take a breath, he'd slammed the door again.

I stood there, a little bit flustered, and then rang the doorbell again. I wasn't the one who tried to suck his blood. If anyone should be angry, it was me. I hadn't even told him about Father yet. He'd just assumed. Granted, he'd assumed correctly, but he didn't have any confirmation.

"Leo, what are you doing?" Joel's muffled voice came from behind the door. "Come on, who is it?" The door opened and Joel gasped. "Braken! You came back! I was so worried about you -" He grabbed me in a tight hug and practically carried me inside, squeezing me until it hurt to breathe. "You're freezing," he muttered. "Sit down. I'll get you a blanket and some tea."

"Nothing with caffeine in it, p-please," I whispered, suddenly feeling very weak.

"Sure. Leo, go get him a blanket."

"I'm not doing anything for him," Leo hissed. 

Joel frowned, confused, and I wondered what story Leo had told him. Obviously not the full one. "Uh ... alright, I'll talk to you in a minute. Hang on, let me get this started."

Only a few minutes later, I was wrapped up tight in a blanket with a steaming cup of tea. I took a sip and sighed softly in relief as warmth flooded my whole body. I was starting to regain feeling in my toes, and that was almost more painful than losing it.

"Okay," Joel said, sitting next to me. "Both of you, tell me what's going on."

This time, I told him everything. 


	7. Chapter 7

I didn't make it to my bed, and ended up sleeping most of the day on the couch. Joel had been infuriated when he'd found out Leo had bitten me, but he'd taken my story surprisingly well. He seemed eager to help, as long as I was telling the truth. I wondered if this was one of his werewolf traits, as packs were family units, where everyone protected each other, or if he would have been this way as a normal human being. Maybe it was both. 

Leo didn't talk to me all night. He didn't want to believe me. I think it was because he knew I was right, and he didn't want to acknowledge that he was wrong. Plus ... he wasn't really ashamed of what he'd done. In fact, when I woke up, I caught him staring hungrily at me. I think he  _ liked _ it.

"Braken, you're awake," Joel said as I sat up.

"I guess," I muttered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and wincing. I had a huge headache. Every time I turned my head, the world spun around. I could barely stay upright, and fell back against the couch, as if I'd been drugged.

Joel frowned and rushed over, laying me back against the arm rest. "Hey, you don't look so good." He rested the back of his hand against my forehead and I twitched away from him. His hand was burning hot. "You're so pale ... How do you feel?"

"What?" I mumbled. "Oh ... um ... dizzy. Can I have some water?"

"Sure."

He left and then returned with a cup of water, and I struggled to take it from him. I kept spilling it down my sweater. I took a few sips, and then had to stop as I began to feel queasy. What was happening to me? I felt like I couldn't function.

I could see the worry in Joel's face. He was afraid. For all we knew, I could be dying.

I wasn't dying. At least ... I didn't think I was.

Joel gently turned my head and checked the bandage on my neck, and as he did, his eyes widened. "Leo, did you do this?"

"Do what?" he said in a monotone from across the room.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked. I brought my hand up to touch it, but Joel forced it back down and carefully pulled the gauze off of my skin.

It was completely soaked, not because it had been wet - no, I'd been very careful to keep it out of the water - but because the bite on my neck was still oozing blood.

"I only bit him once, if that's what you're wondering," Leo said coldly.

"It's ... no wonder you're sick. You're losing too much blood."

Joel quickly ran to the kitchen to get more gauze, and I put my hand against the wounds, just to see. My fingers came away dark with blood. Oh no. As soon as the bandage was off, I could feel it trickling down my neck, pooling at my collar bone and dripping down my chest.

" _ Tonight, _ of all nights," Joel muttered, returning with a bowl of warm water, a rag, and lots of new bandage.

"Sorry?" I said. The water felt good, but it stung when he gently dabbed my neck.

"It's not your fault. Hold still."

"It's almost seven," Leo said. "You'd better leave."

"I can't leave Braken." Joel's eyes were determined and there was the fire of protection burning inside him. I'd only known him for six days, and yet he already felt like this. I didn't deserve his protection. I dropped my eyes in shame and felt my pale face grow just a little pink. The water in the bowl was already black with my blood.

"You also can't stay here and endanger him," Leo said, making a good point. I knew werewolves often hurt the ones they loved when they were out of control.

"I'll be okay," I said softly. He sighed and sat down next to me, rubbing his forehead. "Actually ..." I said as a thought suddenly occurred to me. "Where are you going?"

"Just out. Why?"

My heart sunk down to my stomach. "But Father's going to be out there. You'll be killed."

"He doesn't know where we live, right?" Joel asked.

"No ..."

"Leo's right. I have to get out. I'll stay as close as I can. Confining me during the full moon is never a good idea."

"We tried it once," Leo grumbled. "Didn't end well."

"But -" I started.

"Hey," Joel said, cutting me off. "You just have to trust me. I'll be okay. Just stay here and watch Leo. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

"Now you're starting to sound like Father," I grumbled. "Sit here and let me take care of it. Don't touch anything, don't get off the couch, don't even breathe. Just sit with your eyes closed and pretend nothing's wrong."

Leo laughed humorlessly. "Welcome to society, kid."

"That's not what I meant, Braken," Joel said, trying to defend himself. "I'm trying to protect you."

"The one who really needs protecting is  _ you _ !" I tried to sit up, but my head swam and I fell back down. I hated being helpless. I had to protect him, and I couldn't do that in this condition. Why couldn't he understand? Why couldn't he see that his life was in danger?

"Braken, calm down. I promise, I'll be fine."

"You know ..." Leo said thoughtfully. "He's either telling the truth, or he's trying to get you to stay so he can kill us both."

"I promise I'm trying to help you. Please, you have to listen to me," I begged. I felt horrible. My stomach churned, my head throbbed, and I had trouble breathing fast enough to keep up with my words. My neck hurt where I'd been bitten, even though it hadn't hurt too bad last night. Something was wrong. My heart was pounding against my ribs, terrified, but my pulse was weakening. I was losing too much blood. Why hadn't I noticed before? I turned a little and noticed a massive black blood stain on the couch where I'd been laying. I'd only just barely uncovered it when I tried to get up.

"Braken, he can't possibly find me, not with everything else going on tonight," Joel said gently, but firmly. "You need to lay down. Moving around is going to make it worse."

I sighed in defeat and covered my eyes with my hand. "You don't know my father," I said. "All you have to do is stand outside and he knows where you are."

"He's not even looking for me. He's looking for Leo. If you keep him inside, he won't find you." Joel smiled, but I could see the worry. My story had scared him. He was jumpy, too, though I knew that was a werewolf thing. They always got anxious before they transformed. "Look, I really need to get out of here," he said. "I'm really sorry, Braken. Take care of yourself. I'll come back in the morning."

And before I could say anything else, he was gone.

I couldn't let him go out there alone. "Hey, get me some salt water," I said to Leo, struggling to stand up.

"Joel told you to stay down."

"He's going to get himself killed." My knee buckled and I fell over the armrest.

"Then why do you need salt water?" Leo gave me a suspicious look.

"It'll help me heal this faster. It'll at least stop the bleeding." I hauled myself up again and shuffled into the kitchen, where Leo was sitting at the table, staring at me - at my neck and the alarming amount of blood there. "Don't look at me like that," I hissed.

He shrugged. "Can't help it. You heard my story. Tonight, I'm going out to find someone unlucky enough to get a glimpse of these." He grinned, his fangs glinting as he ran his tongue over them.

"Not you, too." I was beginning to lose hope. Nobody believed me and they were going to be killed. I hated being helpless. I had a deep, dark feeling of terror in my chest, threatening to swallow me whole, like I was trapped in a dark room, pressing myself against the corner as the terror reached out, grabbing at my toes, pushing me farther back. I wanted to sink into the wall, but I couldn't. All I could do was huddle in the dark like the coward I was.

I finally collapsed against the counter by the sink and grasped a cup with my bloody fingers. The more I moved, the more blood oozed out of my neck. I reached for the salt and emptied half of the shaker into the cup, filling it up with warm water.

"Hey, you're making a mess," Leo complained. 

"If you would've helped me," I said, each breath rattling inside me, "I wouldn't have made one."

He didn't say anything.

I stirred the salt water with my finger, revealing my scales again, though this time, they were a very pale blue, tinged with green, reflecting my fear and my weakness. Once the salt had dissolved, I took a paper towel and dipped it in the water, using that to wash the bite on my neck. It stung the first time I touched it, but then the only hurt was the low throbbing from before. It seemed as though every time I rested the paper towel against it for even a second, it came away dripping in blood. Why wasn't it stopping?

I used almost all of the paper towels, and finally, the blood flow began to slow down. I slumped over the counter, breathing hard, my heart beating fast and uneven. I needed the moon, but I was afraid Father would find me if I stepped outside, even for a moment. I had to go find Joel, but I couldn't even walk. I was weak and exhausted, my head was spinning, my vision was blurred, and my mind seemed to be covered in a fog.

Leo wandered over to me, not out of concern, but out of curiosity. He picked up one of the bloody paper towels and put the corner in his mouth, ignoring my sound of disgust. He took it back out after a moment of sucking on it and threw it in the garbage can. "Too salty. What a shame."

"You're sick," I hissed, still trying to catch my breath.

"And you're dying." He shrugged. "I don't believe your story. I think it's only convenient for me that you're having such a problem. Now you can't kill me."

I didn't have the strength to argue. What would I have to do to prove it to him?

I looked up and pushed the curtains away from the window, letting the moonlight into the house. I knew it was risky, but it was better than going outside, and I needed help. It wouldn't heal me, not like the ocean would have, but strength began to return to my body the longer I stood there, breathing in and out and trying my best to stay calm.

"I thought you said your father would know where you are if you touched the moonlight," Leo said coldly, back at the table with his finger in his mouth.

"He shouldn't be able to see into the house," I mumbled, closing my eyes and letting the light fill me up. 

"Shouldn't or won't?"

"You didn't believe me, so why are you so concerned?"

Again, he stayed silent.

As soon as I felt ready, I closed the curtains again and stepped back, away from the counter. I took a few hesitant steps, but I was already feeling better and my head had cleared. I was still a little dizzy, and I wasn't even close to being at full strength, but I could walk again. "I'm going after Joel," I said.

"In that condition?" he laughed. "Bubbles, you'll be lucky to get down the street."

"Don't call me Bubbles," I grumbled. "Only Joel can."

Leo stood up and grabbed my shoulders to keep me still. I immediately felt threatened, especially since he was a good five or six inches taller than me and glaring down at me with fire in his purple eyes. "Do you know why Joel trusts you and I don't?" he asked softly.

I tried to meet his gaze, but I felt unworthy, like an inferior, or like I was shrinking up. I dropped my eyes and didn't answer.

"Because Joel is ignorant. He hasn't seen the things I have. Even his family, who attempted to reject him, still stops by - because packs are family units. He's already accepted you into his family and now he's determined to protect you, because he thinks he knows you. I thought you were different, Braken. I fell in your trap, but once I saw what you were keeping in there, once I heard your story ..." I could almost feel his glare grow even harder, like I'd be turned to stone if I looked at him. "You're a Hunter, of all creatures," he said in disgust. "And an amateur, naive one on top of that."

"Yeah, I'm a Hunter," I said, taking a shaking breath and standing up as tall as I could. I couldn't take being pushed down like this. I could defend myself, even if I couldn't defend Joel. "I'm the only Hunter from the ocean, so that makes me inferior by nature, and I'm the only Hunter who's messed up this badly, the only one who's been bitten by the one he was hunting, the only one everyone gave up on, the only one who just wants to fit in, and the only one who's been banished from the world he loves! The only thing I have left to lose is you and Joel! You're all I have left! Can't you see that? What benefit does it have to me to turn you in like this? Father is going to  _ kill me _ if he finds me here! Do you understand that?"

"You're lying. The whole thing is a fraud," Leo said without hesitation.

I stepped back, breathing hard, and watched the scales on my hand flush dark red in anger, though sometimes, white swirled through them in terror. I wasn't afraid of him. I was afraid  _ for _ him. Him and Joel. And I was terrified of what Father would do to me when he found us. It was only a matter of time. "Just because you're older, Leo, doesn't make you wiser. You may have lived for eighty something years, and you may have seen some things, but if you don't have the capacity to forgive someone, you'll get nowhere in life. You're a lost cause."

He stiffened, but before he had a chance to respond, there was a knock at the door. We both turned simultaneously and stared, and I felt my heart flutter nervously in my chest. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my scales drain of all color.

A tense silence filled the room. And then they knocked again.

If there was one thing I'd learned in my life, it was that you never answered the door on a full moon. You never opened the windows, you never answered to anyone. Not if you were like us. Not if you wanted to survive.

They knocked again, more urgent this time. Still, neither of us moved. We knew the risks. The silence grew darker, more ominous. I could hear the wind whistling outside and the clock in the living room counting the tense seconds.

_ Tick. _

_ Tock. _

_ Tick. _

_ Tock. _

The knock came again, faster, harder, like my heart. There was a shorter pause this time until the next knock. Faster. Harder. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

_ Tick. _

_ Tock. _

_ Tick. _

_ Tock. _

The door handle jiggled and both of us flinched backward. It was locked, thanks to Leo's determination to keep me inside. The knocking was no longer knocking. It was pounding. Frantic, desperate pounding. Somewhere outside, I heard someone scream.

_ Tick. _

_ Tock. _

_ Tick. _

_ Tock. _

I was shaking like a leaf, like a tree in a hurricane. Each breath caught in my throat and burned in my chest. I almost couldn't feel the bite anymore. The fear overwhelmed the pain.

The pounding increased until I was sure they'd break down the door. This time, it was accompanied with a voice. "Leo! Braken! Let me in! Please!" it screamed.

It was Joel's voice.

"Joel!" Leo took a step to run to the door, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Let go! What are you doing? Do you  _ want _ him to die?"

"That's not Joel," I said.

_ Tick. _

_ Tock. _

_ Tick. _

_ Tock _ .

The door seemed to be bending in every time the thing hit it. Its voice cracked as it screamed, louder and louder. "Leo! Leo, please! Help me! Leo, let me in!"

Leo's face was filled with pain. He knew I was right. He knew it wasn't really Joel. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, his shoulders tense. It was physically painful for him to listen to his friend's voice, screaming, crying from the other side of the door.

"It's not him," I said softly.

Leo started to shake, and a few tears slipped down his pale face. Finally, his eyes snapped open. "I can't take it anymore!" he screamed, shoving me out of the way and running to the door.

I crashed against the counter and yelped. "Leo, no!" I cried, but he didn't listen.

He flung open the door and then some sort of force threw him backward. He hit the wall with a crack and crumpled, gripping his shoulder where he'd hit it. I immediately knew who it was.

He'd found us.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Father said, casually stepping into the house. He had his spear held out to his side, and his glow was actually less powerful than usual. He was starting to take his true form. His eyes flickered to me and he grinned. "And you - it's all thanks to you I know the hiding place. If you hadn't come here, I never would've known."

"I ... knew it," Leo hissed, wincing in pain as he struggled to stand up. His gaze flickered between me and my father. "You lied to me."

"That's what Hunters do, half-blood. They lie." Father took a step forward and Leo backed into the wall. He was terrified. He knew he was going to die.

"That's not true," I insisted, my voice cracking. I staggered toward them, planting my feet in front of Leo. "I'm not a Hunter. I'm not a liar. And I'm going to protect my friend."

"Do you remember what I told you back in the bathroom?" Father asked, his voice cold as ice. "If you ever show your face again, you'll find a fate far worse than you can ever imagine. Are you ready for that, Braken?" He lifted his spear and rested the point against my chest again. This time, he wasn't just threatening me to leave. He was ready to kill me to get to Leo. That's what happens when your supernatural father has three dozen kids with different monsters. You make a mistake, and you're worth nothing. There's always someone to replace you.

I swallowed hard and swatted the spear point away. "Don't touch him," I ordered, my voice shaking.

"Are you ready to accept your fate?" he countered, pushing the point harder into me. I caught my breath in pain as it broke skin, but I didn't move.

"I -" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"No, you aren't." Father laughed, loud and crashing like a storm on the waves. "You're afraid. Real heroes aren't afraid to die."

"No, real heroes have courage," I said, cringing as he pushed harder. I backed up and pressed myself against the wall, but he just followed me, digging the point further into my chest. Leo was gone. "Courage is - is doing the right thing, even when you're scared."

Father started to laugh again, amused as I tried in vain to wiggle away from his spear point. It slowly drove into my chest, and I noticed yet another dark blood stain spreading across my sweater. The point burned through my whole body, and when I tried to lift it away, the silver burned my hand, too, so instead, I pressed my hands back against the wall. I didn't know what to do. All I could do was shove myself into the wall, as if I would melt into it if I tried hard enough. I squeezed my eyes shut as tears spilled down my cheeks, letting out choked gasps of agony. This was it. I was going to die. I only hoped Leo had gotten far enough away. Oh, it burned, it burned, it burned ...

"Is this the right thing?" Father taunted, twisting the spear as he pushed just a little harder.

All I could do was let out a gasping cry of pain as he slowly pushed deeper into my chest. If he lifted it now, I'd still survive, but it was only a matter of time before he reached that point and killed me. "Please ..." I gasped out, gritting my teeth as if to brace myself against the agony ripping through my chest.

His face hardened, and he lifted some of the pressure, only so he could thrust his spear into me with more force. Before he could, however, he let out a chilling scream and dropped the spear on the floor. Leo yanked my knife out of Father's shoulder and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward the door as Father reached down to grab his weapon again.

"Come on!" Leo shouted as we burst into the moonlight. I staggered down the step, pressing my free hand against my chest, and nearly collapsed in his arms. "Hey," he said. "Now's not the best time for apologies, but I'm sorry." He gave me a terrified, hopeful smile. "Outcasts gotta stick together."


	8. Chapter 8

We didn't get very far down the street before we rounded a corner and came face to face with a wolf - a large, brown wolf with teeth barred and ears flat against his head. Leo skidded to a stop and I fell over onto my back with a shriek, both in terror and pain. The wolf lowered his head, sniffing my neck and the blood on my chest. My breathing grew fast and shallow as I stared wide-eyed at him. I tried to think back to my lessons, but my mind was too frantic and I couldn't remember.

"Calm down, it's just Joel," Leo said.

It  _ was _ Joel, but he was acting as if he didn't know who I was. He was in his feral form, and I knew he might not even be in control. His eyes - the longer I stared into them, the more I recognized him. But his eyes were wild and furious.

"Hey, Joel," Leo said, trying to steady his voice. He was afraid, too. "This is Braken. Don't hurt him."

The wolf sniffed again, brushing his nose against my neck, and I yelped in pain as he touched the bite. At the sound of my voice, a low growl rumbled in the back of his throat and the fur on his neck rose up. I wondered why he wasn't attacking me, as werewolves almost always attacked without waiting. Maybe it was because I wasn't human. They craved human flesh, not ... whatever I was. He opened his mouth, his human eyes burning with hatred, and I quickly covered my head as he lunged forward.

But he wasn't going for me.

Joel lept over my head with a wild snarl and slammed into someone behind me. I looked up, hardly able to believe it. He'd attacked my father - who could very well kill him.

"Joel!" Leo screamed, and the wolf glanced at him before snapping at Father. Father pushed him back with the side of his spear, and Joel lowered himself to the ground, ready to fight again. Every time Father tried to lunge at us, he was there, sinking his teeth into his shoulder, or biting his leg, or attempting to wrestle the spear away from him.

He was protecting us.

"We have to get out of here," I whispered.

"We can't leave him," Leo said, helping me stand.

"It's pack mentality. He's protecting us. If we don't get away, it'll all be for nothing."

Leo's face showed almost exactly what he was feeling. He was scared, for me, for him, for Joel, and he wanted to argue with me, but he knew I was right. Joel was doing the right thing. He was helping us escape.

His mental battle lasted only a second, and then he wrapped his hand under my arms. "Then let's get out of here."

We took only four or five staggering steps, before Joel let out a chilling howl that melted into a very human scream. Leo and I both turned as fast as we could and I gasped in disbelief. Father had sliced his spear across the wolf's chest, and as he'd done so, it had forced Joel to change back to his human form. I didn't know that was even possible. He staggered back and pressed his hand against his chest, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"How ...?" he gasped out.

Father grinned darkly. "It's easier to kill a human than to kill a wolf, isn't it?"

Joel stumbled back, tripping over his own feet as he scrambled back. Leo grabbed his hand and pulled him into a run, and I tried to pull myself up to follow them. Father laughed as Joel stood in front of me and told me to get on his back. I was hurting all over, so I just nodded mindlessly and jumped up. He immediately took off running, and I yelped at the sudden speed. He was  _ fast _ .

"You can't run forever," Father called after us, chucking. "I'll always find you."

We all knew he was right.

Joel led the way into the main part of the city, and I noticed a man-made river flowing through city streets, glowing with blue and purple lights. That could either be my downfall, or our victory. I'd never been here at night. I'd seen the river, but I'd never thought about it before in this way.

"Come on, we can hide in there," Leo said, pointing to a gas station. "He won't check in there."

"Unless he does, and we corner ourselves," Joel said, gasping for breath.

"Let's try," Leo insisted, running toward it at full speed. The automatic doors didn't open, and he slammed into the glass and actually knocked himself over.

Joel suddenly collapsed and I tumbled off of his back onto the pavement, hitting my head. My vision went white for a second, and then I had to blink repeatedly to clear the spots.

"Sorry," Joel huffed. "My body's - It's not acting right. It wants to be wolf. That moon -"

"It's okay," I managed to cough out. "Not your fault." The stab on my chest was bleeding more. I was dizzy again. This was bad. I stayed laying on the pavement for another minute, trying to catch my breath, even though I wasn't the one who had ran all this way. Then I noticed something creeping across the ground - frost, little patterns of ice.  _ Fractals _ .

I launched myself at Joel and managed to knock him away before the crystals reached up with incredible speed into an icy claw. Both of us yelped, but Joel didn't protest as I pulled him up to his feet and ran toward Leo. Fractal was here, too. That made things a hundred times worse.

Leo quickly caught up to us. "What is that?" he shrieked, pointing.

"Fractal. He's also Father's son," I said, my words breathy and my voice weak.

"He's your brother?" Joel asked in surprise.

"Half brother," I agreed. "He's not a siren, though. He's an ice spirit. Whatever those are called."

"Perfect," Leo hissed.

By now, there was a crowd forming, staying far away from Fractal, but definitely interested. People had their phones out, and when we noticed this, all three of us cursed. The last thing we needed was to show up on the media. We'd have a million things after us.

Before I could say anything about it, something slammed into us from behind, knocking us over. Leo let out a choked scream, and as I regained my senses, I saw that he was pinned down by Father, the spear against his throat. He had my knife in his hand, but it was slipping out of his fingers as Father pushed harder and harder. I thought he might snap his neck before he choked him. They were close to the river, and an idea hit me.

"Get Leo out of here," I murmured, bracing myself.

"What are you -" Joel never got to finish his sentence, because I threw myself at Father with as much rage as I could muster.

I hit him with more force than I'd anticipated, and I tumbled over him as I dragged him into the artificial river. He let out a frustrated yell as I did so, but it was cut off as we went under. Immediately, I tugged off my clothes, because last time I'd been this reckless, very painful things had happened. Only a second later, the scales consumed my legs and appeared across my chest and up onto my cheek. My right hand, my claws felt sharper than normal. The dizziness vanished almost immediately, and even my stab didn't hurt as much. I flicked my crimson red tail and noticed that my neck was leaving a cloud of black blood in the water, but I didn't care. I would finish this.

Father shot to the ground like a torpedo, flipping over and kicking off, and it was just deep enough to prevent him from getting enough momentum to explode out of the water, like I knew he wanted to. Instead, he just bobbed up to the surface and caught a breath of air before I slammed into him. I had to keep him in here, now that I was stuck. I knew he didn't need air to breathe, so killing him was going to be difficult.

Did I really want to kill my father?

I didn't need to ponder on it long. Yes. Yes, I did. It was the only way to save my friends, and also myself. I knew this was a fight to the death. It wouldn't be over until one or both of us was dead.

Father turned over in the water and thrust his spear, but the water slowed it down before it could hit me, and a quick maneuver was enough to spin it around and thrust it back at him. Thanks to my power, my elemental connection with the water, it sailed toward him with incredible speed. I wasn't able to control the water, but I had a certain connection with it. It knew when I wanted something, and it did it.

This water was a little different. This water had chlorine in it, and the longer I stayed here, the stuffier I began to feel. It burned my gills and my lungs, and I knew I'd have to finish this quick.

It felt good to swim again, to dart through the water like a bullet. It was a hundred times better than being slow on land. I finally felt like I could move, like I wasn't so useless in a fight. I shot toward Father, but he twisted and grabbed my arm, changing my direction and pushing himself up to the surface. This time, he launched into the air, and I jumped out as well, tackling him midair and forcing him under again. All I had to do was land one solid bite on his neck and my venom would weaken him. Then I could worry about the silver part.

He just wouldn't hold still. I felt my face grow dark red in anger, and my red scales began to grow black around the edges. Every time I flew at him, swiped him with my claws, he was only an inch away, twisting through the water and away from every attack. He wasn't landing any good blows, but he was defending himself. He wasn't completely helpless.

He finally managed to land a solid kick to my jaw and I launched backward, hitting against the side of the artificial river. He started to swim away, knowing he wouldn't make it out of the water before I could grab him, after I regained my sense of direction. I watched him go for a split second, and then pulled myself up so my head broke the surface. "Leo!" I yelled, my voice cracking. Leo glanced over his shoulder. He was still holding my knife. "Throw that to me!" I ordered, pointing. He lifted up the knife in question, and then without thinking, chucked it as hard as he could. He was going to miss the river, so I jumped into the air and caught it - the blade side, unfortunately - before twisting around and diving back into the water. I heard a few excited gasps and awe-filled voices, but I ignored them. Now wasn't the time to show off.

I swam to Father as fast as I could, ready to plunge my knife into his back, but he turned around a second before I hit, grabbing my arm and yanking it back. I kept my fingers locked tightly around the knife's hilt, determined to keep it in my possession, and as I wrestled with him, I neglected to notice that ice was spreading across the top of the river, freezing about an inch down. The chlorine was making me sick. My throat burned, my eyes burned, my lungs burned, everything about me hurt worse with every passing second.

I  _ would not _ give up. I couldn't. I couldn't let this monster kill them.

Father had both my arms now, gripping my wrists like iron. I twisted around, hitting him with my tail, but he landed kick after kick to my gut, pushing both of us back until he had me up against the wall again. Only then did he release me, and I took my chance.

At first, I was so blinded by pure, white hot rage, that I didn't even feel it. I was too busy staring at the knife I'd buried in Father's chest, and watching his face go from anger to surprise to filled with agony. Only when I pulled it out, his silver blood clouding the water around me, did I notice him smiling triumphantly, and only then did I bother to look down.

He'd run his spear right through me.

Suddenly, I could feel again, and the agony hit so suddenly, I seemed to go numb for another moment. I could taste the blood rising up my throat and into my mouth, and I could feel the hot metal inside of me, running through my stomach and protruding out my back. And then he yanked it out and I let out the most animalistic scream I had ever heard come out of my mouth. I dropped my knife, unaware that it sank to the bottom, and bent over, bringing my tail up as if to protect myself. My hands gripped my bleeding stomach tightly, desperate to stop the flow somehow. The other wounds, my bite, the stab in my chest, I knew I was going to survive those. But this - I knew I was going to die. I knew it so suddenly, that I almost didn't even comprehend I was still alive. The agony pulsing through me was too real, too fiery and intense. I had to be in hell.

Father only gave me a second to react, and then he seized my throat with his iron grip and pushed us both up, using me to break the ice. There was a crack, and a burst of pain in my head and neck, and then we exploded through the ice. The force launched both of us into the air and he slammed me down in a puddle on the pavement, his blood rushing all over me, before his grip on my throat tightened, and he began to fade into nothing but the moonlight.

"This isn't the last you'll see of me, Braken," he hissed smugly, as if he'd won, as if he wasn't dead.

And then he was gone.

I flipped onto my side, pressing my fists against my stomach. There was no use. The blood was still pouring out of my back. I'd be dead in less than an hour.

Leo and Joel were gone, and I was at least grateful they'd followed my order. Fractal was standing in the back of the crowd gathering around me, watching me. His face was a battle of emotions.

I didn't dwell on it too long. I was hit by a sudden increase of pain, the fire more intense than it had been a few seconds ago, and I let out a wail, squeezing my eyes shut and gritting my teeth as blood trickled out of the side of my mouth. I was completely helpless as I laid there, sobbing, coughing up blood, trying in vain to dull the pain. I began to lose consciousness, my vision blurry, my mind foggy. I could just barely see the crowds of people pressing closer to me, their voices echoing through my head.

"What is this thing?"

_ "What is this thing?" _

_ "What is this thing?" _

They stepped closer, their phones out, crowding me until I felt like a tiny ant, ready to be stepped on. _ No. No, please, leave me alone _ , I begged silently.  _ Please. Please, leave me alone.  _ I couldn't handle their stares, watching me like I was an animal at a zoo. I was terrified. I felt trapped. I swished my tail weakly, the fin slapping uselessly against the pavement, and they reached closer, someone touching the white scales. I quickly drew my tail up to my chest, the agony burning hotter and hotter, the blood mixing with the puddle around me.

_ Please, leave me alone. _

This was my worst nightmare. I couldn't be studied, not again. I couldn't be handled like some animal, some object instead of what I really was. I'd spent years like this, years in a cage, studied, examined - I couldn't do it again.

_ Please _ , please,  _ leave me alone _ .

"Braken!" someone screamed, their voice familiar.

I couldn't remember who they were. My mind was too foggy. I barely knew where I was. Why were there so many people around me? Why was I bleeding? It was everywhere. Oh, oh, it was  _ everywhere _ . I was dying.  _ Someone help me. _

"Braken!" They knelt next to me, both of them, but I knew it was too late. I finally felt my breathing grow slow and felt myself start to drift away. Someone took my hand and squeezed it. "Hey, hey, you're going to be alright," he said, his voice choked with tears. "Hang in there, okay?"

I just smiled and sighed softly, letting the darkness take me forever.

Finally, it was over.


	9. Chapter 9

It was dark, and the sounds echoed around me like I was underwater. I felt like I was floating, rising up with each breath, and sinking down as I exhaled. I felt relaxed, calmer than I'd been in a long time.

Where was I? I couldn't remember anything. Slowly, I began to get a hold of my senses, and noticed a soft beeping sound, almost comforting. I sighed softly, the whole world feeling soft. The more I became aware, the more I noticed the strange things around me. I still had my tail, but I was laying down on something, and I was breathing air. Was I dead? Everything was so ... white.

Then I heard voices, soft, gentle voices. I thought I recognized them, but I wasn't sure.

"The doctor said he'd be okay."

"Will he ever be able to move again?"

"Yes, eventually." There was a pause. "Hey, it's okay."

"It's not okay." His voice was terrified and distressed. I couldn't understand why. I felt just fine. "It's all my fault. If I'd only listened to him, if I had believed him in the first place ..."

"It still would've happened. It's okay." This one sounded so comforting, so nice. I liked him.

"How's our little fish?" a female voice asked gently.

"Not good."

"We'll be back in ten minutes. The test results are in downstairs."

Suddenly, the world went light, like someone had flipped a switch. I blinked my eyes open and was hit with a sudden burst of pain. I winced with a gasp and quickly took in my surroundings. I was in a hospital room, empty except for a few machines, the IV, and two people. They looked familiar. One of them was tall and kind of scruffy-looking, with the kindest blue eyes. The other was pale with black hair and fangs. A vampire.

"Braken! Braken, you're alive!" the vampire said in great relief, and suddenly, it all came back. The memories of the past week, my friends, my father - everything slammed into me head on and I jerked backward, blinking.

It took me another moment to recover from that, and then I could clearly see the two in front of me, clearly remember everything. The fight, the agony, the metal that twisted through my stomach and out my back - I quickly looked down, but I was wrapped up in bandage, all across my torso and chest. "I'm alive," I whispered, smiling weakly. "Guys, I'm alive." I started to cry, though I'm not sure why. I guess I just couldn't believe it. Against all odds, I'd actually survived. I'd saved them. I'd done something right.

Leo looked as if he was going to cry, too, both in happiness and regret. "Braken, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I should've listened, I should've ... and I bit you, and that almost ... if I hadn't, you could've fought harder ... can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course I forgive you," I mumbled, dropping my eyes, "because it's my fault. I told Father about you and I led him right to you."

"You didn't have a choice, did you?" Joel asked.

"As soon as I knew what you two were, I told him, because I thought I'd finally be appreciated. I thought I'd finally prove to him I wasn't useless." I felt a lump rise up in my throat and tried to swallow it. "He told me all supernaturals were horrible things, with no thoughts but to kill. But when I met you guys ... I finally understood that he was wrong."

"Leo, are you sure you don't have a soul?" Joel teased.

Leo furiously rubbed his eyes and glared at the werewolf, who just grinned back at him.

A sudden thought hit me, and I shifted my blurry attention down to my legs - my  _ tail _ . "Uh, guys ..." I said slowly.

"What?" Joel asked.

I lifted the end of my tail and winced as pain ripped through my stomach. Even though I hadn't felt much before, as soon as I moved, the pain returned. 

"Oh, that." Joel chuckled a little. "Fractal told the medical guys you'd die if you dried out. Then he told us you'd get your legs back and ..." He laughed a little harder and my scales flushed pink.

"I'd be naked, yeah," I muttered.

"We figured you wouldn't want that," Leo said, cracking a smile.

"How'd ..." I had to pause to catch my breath. Each time I inhaled, it brought a stab of pain to my gut. "How'd they react to ... all this?" I picked at the fin on my arm, anticipating the worst.

"They think you're fascinating," Joel said hesitantly, and my scales turned a dark red in anger. I started to say something, but he cut me off. "They're very nice, though. They're careful to make sure you're comfortable, and they're treating you to the best of their abilities. Without them, you'd be dead."

"They're studying me," I said, my voice low. Leo and Joel exchanged a glance, and I began to get angry, mixed with fear and sadness. My scales didn't know which one of my emotions to show. "I don't care if they're nice. I'm still being studied like some animal." I started to cry again, the fear overtaking the other emotions. I’d heard stories of other creatures in labs, and I couldn’t bear to live the reality.

"Hey, it's okay," Leo said gently, taking my hand as a comfort. "We'll stop them from doing it, if that's what you want."

"Get me out of here," I whispered, each shaking breath bringing agony to my whole body, through my stomach and my back.

"Is he awake?" a nurse said, coming into the room with a spray bottle. She saw me and her face lit up. "It's nice to see you're finally awake, Braken. The doctor will be with you as soon as he can. Would you like some water?" I kept my head ducked and flopped my tail weakly, trying to rub the tears away. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"I wanna go home," I mumbled, swishing my tail. Everything hurt so bad. I cringed and made a weak sound of pain, and Leo squeezed my hand.

"We'll send you home as soon as you're able," she promised. She gave me a few pain killers, and then my memory faded.

...

Weeks passed. Honestly, I don't remember most of it, as I was unconscious for a lot of it, or on some drug that impaired my senses. Joel said I was hilarious when I came out of the anesthesia. He had wanted to get a video of me, but the nurse hadn't let him.

Finally, they let me go home.

They tried to get me to stay. They tried to keep me so they could study me, but Leo and Joel could be very persuasive. As soon as the surgeries and the required recovery time was finished, they got me out of there as fast as they could.

I spent the next weeks after that laying on the couch, doing nothing. It was long and painful and boring, but I got to know the two who'd saved my life a lot better. They really were a strange pair, always arguing, but they'd follow each other to the ends of the universe. I'd already seen this, of course, but I got to experience it more fully. I also might've become nocturnal, as I slept for most of the day and talked with Leo and Joel most of the night.

Once Joel's gash from my father had healed, he went back to work, and I felt horrible, because he had to work overtime a lot to make up for the weeks he hadn't worked. I couldn't even pay him what I owed for rent, because I hadn't been to work in a long time, either. I called my manager and told them about the "tragic accident," but three weeks after that, they fired me in the nicest way possible. I don't think they quite believed the whole story.

About a week after I went home, we got a letter in the mail requesting that the results of my lab tests - that they'd done without our permission - be used for research. I was furious that they'd ask for permission after they'd already tested. However, they did offer five thousand dollars for the information. When I didn't send a reply to them the next week, they doubled the amount. They were obviously determined to get the information, and that made me even more angry. But we did need the money. Leo and Joel were very supportive. They didn't try to persuade me either way, but I finally gave in and accepted. Turns out, my medical bills were considered "government research," so we didn't have to pay for them, and though that was good, it still made me mad. I had almost died and they just called it "government research." I saved most of the money I got from them for rent over the next year, and gave the rest to my two friends, for saving me and taking care of me. They refused to take it, so I determined I'd get it in cash as soon as I was able, and stick it in their savings box they hid in the cupboard on top of the fridge.

Leo taught me how to make music on his computer, and I found it fascinating. It was so different from the music I'd lived with almost my whole life. We actually made a few songs together, and he even convinced me to sing, once it didn't hurt to breathe. I immediately got a lot of fans, mostly because of Leo, I think, but it was super cool to have people all across the world supporting me.

"Hey, Bubbles?" Joel called from the front door, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Your half brother is here to see you."

"Great," I muttered sarcastically.

"Should I let him in?"

"I guess."

Fractal entered the house and glanced around, taking off his coat. It was pretty sunny outside, but there was a whole lot of snow on the ground, and though he was probably perfectly comfortable in that temperature, the humans would have seen him without a coat and wondered if he was insane or something. "Hey, Shark Bait," he said, awkwardly shuffling toward me. "You're alive."

"Looks like it." I shrugged and tried to stand up, as if to prove to him I was doing just fine. My wounds protested and I let out a squeal, just managing to stay upright.

"Don't hurt yourself," Fractal said.

"Since when have you cared what happened to me?"

"I saved your life from your vampire friend," Fractal pointed out, grinning, "and I saved you from total humiliation before everyone saw you with no pants on. But ..." He paused, his smug expression melting into embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I may have teased you a little ..."

"A little?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"A lot," he admitted. "But Father ... He took it way too far. He was jealous of you."

"Jealous of me?" I asked in surprise.

Fractal nodded and wouldn't meet my eyes. "He told me just hours before he attacked you that he couldn't stand how you'd found two of them in such a short time - and that one of them was the half-blood he'd been searching for for years. He was jealous. He couldn't handle anyone better than him."

"I'm not better than Father," I protested, stepping backward and nearly falling against the couch.

Fractal caught me before I fell over. "You managed to kill him before he killed you. I think that means you're better than him."

"Why are you here, Fractal?" I demanded, shoving him away. I noticed Leo and Joel standing in the shadows of the hallway, both ready to join me if I needed help.

"I'm not here to make you angry," Fractal said defensively, putting his hands up in a time out gesture. "I'm actually here to apologize."

I blinked in confusion. "What?" I glanced at my friends and they both shrugged. "What?" I repeated.

"Ouch, don't look so surprised." Fractal winced and rubbed his jaw instead of his neck. "Look, I'm sorry I was a jerk. I'm sorry I didn't think you were worth anything. I was wrong. And also ... when I watched all three of you protecting each other, it made me realize that there's more to life than just doing your duty. There's more to life than coming out on top. I guess you were right. Those who aren't immortal learn the purpose of life." He hesitated again. "So thanks. Thanks for teaching me that, little brother."

I didn't know what to say. All I could do was stare at him. "Uh ... you're welcome?" I said hesitantly.

Fractal laughed a little. "Not used to receiving gratitude, are you? Anyway, I don't know if you guys celebrate it, but merry Christmas." He handed me a hastily-wrapped box and backed up towards the door.

I looked down at the box in my hands and back up at Fractal as he put his coat on. He'd really changed from the last time I'd seen him. "Thank you," I said.

He didn't answer. He just opened the door and left the house as suddenly as he'd come.

Joel followed him out to go get the mail, and I sat down and started to unwrap my present, as we didn't really celebrate Christmas like everyone else did, thanks mostly to Leo. Christmas was one of the most inconvenient times for him as a vampire - that and Easter.

Inside of the box, there was a can of tuna fish, and I started to laugh. Fractal's failed sense of humor was funnier than the jokes. I took it out and set it next to me.

Joel came halfway into the door and sang, "Leo! You got a love letter!"

Leo almost tackled him, but Joel quickly jumped out into the sunlight. "Give that to me!" Leo shrieked, going out as far as the shade allowed.

"Aww, it's from that one girl you met a couple days ago. How sweet."

"Give it to me, Joel!"

"I would, but Leo, you can't even go into the sunlight."

"THE SUN WILL GO DOWN EVENTUALLY."

I left them to their bickering and returned my attention to the box. There was a little bag full of sand, and when I poured some of it into my palm, I immediately recognized it from the beach I'd grown up by. Every beach has its own unique sand.

"You're probably not even in love with her! You can't love her back!"

"I was in love with a girl once -"

"No, you weren't. You don't have a soul."

"At least I didn't have a one night stand with a dog."

There were a few chocolates in there, as well, and a small package wrapped up in tissue paper. Curious, I unwrapped it very carefully.

It was a shell. A spiral one, too. Those were my favorites. It was pink and white, the colors swirling together. It was small and smooth, and it reminded me of home.

"Hey, I didn't - Leo, what are you doing? No, get back inside - put my coat down - LEO!"

"GIVE ME MY LETTER, JOEL!"

There was a note in the very bottom of the box. I picked it up and immediately recognized the swirly handwriting of my mother, written in my native language of the ocean.

_ Greetings from the ocean! Merry Christmas, Braken. I hope you are enjoying school as much as you thought you would. You're going to have to come play for me sometime. I would love to hear you. I was told you are advancing very quickly, and that makes me so happy. Keep practicing! _

_ Do you remember Ed the turtle? He came back a few days ago looking for you. Ed says he misses you, and tells you to come back soon. Don't rush. Make sure you're completely healed before swimming like that again. _

_ I heard about your fight, and I'm relieved to know that you're okay. Don't do anything reckless. Give yourself time to heal. _

_ Think of me when you look at this shell. Don't forget. I'm very proud of who you are, no matter what the others say. I'm proud to call you my son, even if you choose the land over the ocean. You are very unique, one of a kind, and I hope you find someone who will accept you for who you are. Never forget where you come from, Braken. _

_ Come visit soon. _

_ I love you, my darling.  _

_ Mother _

I read the letter over and over, tearing up as I smiled. She was proud of me. That's all I needed to know. I held the shell in the palm of my hand and slowly stood up, being very careful not to hurt myself. I took the tuna with me as I shuffled into the kitchen, and slowly made myself a sandwich, humming to myself.

Leo and Joel were still playfully arguing outside, and I laughed as I listened to them. I finally had a place where I belonged, up on land with the people I loved. They didn't care where I came from or what I looked like. I was just another person who deserved as much love as they did. Even Fractal cared for me, even if he was too embarrassed to show it. Finally, after the fight with Father, after everything I'd been through, I had friends, a family to share a home with, just like I'd always wanted.

A tuna sandwich had never tasted so good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah it's cheesy people on wattpad liked it so i figured why not take my shot on here


End file.
